HANDBOL'ND
AT THE
Mfr.
L'MNIRSITY OF
TORONTO PRESS
THE ANNALS
AMERICAN ACAUEMV
POLITICAL AND SOCLAL SCIENCE
ISSUED BI-MONTHLY
VOL XXI
JANUARY 1904 — J UXH 1904
Editok: EMORY R. JOHNSON
ASSOCIATE editors: SAMUEL McCUNE LINDSAY, JAMES T. YOUNG
PHILADELPHIA
Amkkicax Academy of Political axd Social Science
^^'^
Copyright, 1904, by the American Academy of Political and Social Scienc
All rights reserved ,
V.23
CONTENTS
PRIN'CIPAl, PAPERS
PAGE
AdlKR, HI'.rbert M. Recent Changes in the Government of
London 237
Adler, Herbert M. The Licensing Question in England 514
Allen, William H. Fresh Air Work 464
Barrows, Samuel J. Recent Tendencies in American Criminal
Legislation 493
Conner, Jacob Elon. Industrial Causes Affecting American
Commercial Policy Since Civil War 43
deforest, Robert W. Recent Progress in Tenement -House
Reform 297
Folks, Homer. Problems in Administration of Municipal
Charities 268
Ford, Henry Jones. Principles of Municipal Organization. . . 195
Ford, Henry Jones. The Meaning of Totemism — An Essay
upon Social Origins 518
Gelling, B. R. The Municipal Institutions of Australia 255
Grosser, Hugo S. Municipal Problems of Chicago 281
Hebberd, Robert W. Supervision of Charities in New York . . 477
Huebner, vSolomon. Main Features of the Present Foreign
Trade of the United Kingdom 84
Kirkbride, Franklin B. .Some Phases of the Dispensary
Problem 424
KlEENE, G. a. The Problem of Medical Charity 409
LederlE, Ernst J. New York City's .Sanitary Problems, and
Their Solution 311
Lindsay, Samuel McCune. The Public Charities of Porto Rico 502
Marsh, Benjamin C. Causes of Vagrancy and Methods of Erad
ication 445
Meyer, B. H. Foreign Railway Events in 1902-03 121
Mitchell, Thomas W. Development of Mr. Chamberlain's
Fiscal Policy 105
NiBECKER, F. H. Education of Juvenile Delinquents 483
(iii)
iv Contoiis
PAGE
XdRTH, S. N. 1). The TarilT and the Ivxport Trade of the
United States i
OsBORxr., John* Ball. Reciprocity in the American Tariff Sys-
tem 55
Plehn. Carl C. Tariff Relations of the United States and the
Phihppine Islands 12
Roberts, Peter. The Employment of Girls in Textile Indus-
tries in Pennsylvania 434
Stokes, J. G. Phelps. Public Schools as Social Centres 457
Storrs. Lucius C. Correctional A\'ork in Michigan 472
Tavl<.>k. \\'. G. Laxgworthv. Protection, Ilxpansion and
International Competition 26
\\"eher, Adna Ferrix. The Significance of Recent City
Growth: The Era of Small Industrial Centres 223
\\'inTTEX, Robert H. Political and Municipal Legislation in
1903 322
COMMUXICATIOXS
Sparlixi}, Samuel E. The League of Wisconsin Municipalities. 340
Wilcox, Delos F. Municipal Problems in ^lichigan 341
PERSONAL NOTHS
Andrews, J. P., 141.
Arbuthnot, C. C, 529.
Blakeslee, G. H., 520.
Carstens, C. C, 344.
Eckhardt, C. C, 142.
Fesler, Mayo, 141.
GrilTith, E. C, 530.
Huberich, C. H., 529.
Lefroy, A. H. F., 344.
Lewis, C. T., 142.
Minis, H. A., 141.
Rowntree, B. S., 345.
Shearer, A. H., 529.
Thomas, D. Y., 529.
Towne, E. T., 141.
Wickett, S. M., 345.
Young, J. M., 344.
Conienis ,
BOOK DEPARTMENT
CnXDUCTED BY FREDERICK A. Ci.EVELAVD AND JaMES W. GaRN'E;-
PAGE
Ashley, W. | . The Adjustment of Wages. — E. S. Meade 157
Bellom, Maurice. De la RespnnsalMlitc en matiere d' Accidents du Travail.
— C. TV. A. Vedifz ,S4i
BiGELOW, PouLTNEY. History of the CTcrnian Struj^gle for Liberty. \'ol.
III.— IF. E. Lingelbach 362
DOPP, Katharine E. The Place of Industries in Elementary Education. —
Siinon N. Patten 15^
Fraxcotte, Henri. L'industrie dans le Grece ancienne. — C.W'.A. \'cilitz i6i
Gordon, J. B. Reminiscences of the Civil War. — IT. L. Fleming .543
Hart, A. B. Actual Government as Applied under American Conditions. —
/. IV. Garner 162
lENKS, Edward. Parliamentary England. — C. T. W'yckofj ,^44
Laughlin, J. L. and H. P. Willis. Reciprocity. — Emory R. Johnson 363
Lavisse, Ernest. Histoire de France. Vol. I; Parti Vol. II; Parti.
— D. C. Munro 1 64
Mitchell, John. Organized Labor. — F. J. W'arne 546
Parsons, Frank. The Story of New Zealand. — /. T. Young 547
Pic, Paul. Traite elementaire de Legislation Industrielle. — C. II'. A. \'cditz 350
Pratt, E. A. American Railways. — Walter E. Weyl 364
Robinson, J. H. An Introduction to the Histor\' of Western Europe. — G.
C. Sellery 165
von SchieRBRAXD, \Volf. Germany; The Welding of a ^\■orkl Power, — C.
W . A. Veditz 365
Stanwood, Edward. American Tariff Controversies in the Nineteenth
Century. — J . E. Conner 366
TrEvelyan, Sir George Otto. The American Revolution. Part II. — C.
H. Van Tync 3^8
WiLLOUGHBV, W. \^'. The Political Tlieories of the Ancient World. — C. E.
Met riam 55^
notes
Ashley, W. J . The Tariff Problem 3.1 '
Baldwin, E. H. Joseph Galloway, the Loyalist Politician 347
B.\LFOUR, A. J. Economic Notes on Insular Free Trade 347
Beavan, A. H. Tube, Train, Tram and Car, or Up-to-Date Locomotion. . . 348
V. BOHM-B.\WERK, Eugene. Capital und Capitalzins 349
vi Contents
PAGB
V. Bohm-Bawekk, Krr.EN'E. Kecenl Literature on Interest i4,>
BOLLES, A. S. Money, Banking; and Finance i44
Booth, Maud B. After Prison — What ? 349
Brackett, T- R- Supervision and Education in Charity i44
Brants, Viltok. La petite Industrie conteniporaine 35°
Brown, A. J. The New Kra in the PhiUppines 35-
Chaiu,EY-Bert, }. Dix Annees de Politique coloniale 531
DES CiLUELLS, Alfreo. La Population 35°
CoHN, GfSTAV. Zur Geschichte und Pohtik des Verkehrswesens 14.S
Cooke, J. K. History of Virginia 53i
COOLEV, T. M. Constitutional Limitations (7th ed.) with large additions ]>y
V. H. Lane 53^
Coojjeralive Wholesale vSocielies, Limited, Annual for 1903 352
Crosby, Iv. H. Tolstoy and his Message 353
Defocrny, Maurice. La Sociologie'positiviste: August Comtc 532
Dixox, Hepworth. The History of William Penn 353
Fea, Allen. After Worcester Fight 533
GrEGOROvius. Lucretia Borgia. (Translation by John Leslie C^arner.) .. . 533
GuYOT, Yves. Les Conflits du Travail et leur Solution 354
Ha.\cke, Heinrich. Handel und Industrie in der Provinz vSaciisen, 1S89-
1 899 534
Hepburn, A. B. The History of Coinage and Currency in the United States
and the Perennial Contest for Sound Money 1 45
HoR.\CK, F. E. The Organization and Control of Industrial Cori)orations. . 355
HoRWiTz, C. N. The Twentieth Century Chronology of the World 334
Hubert- V.\llER0ux, P. La Cooperation 35°
James, G. W. The Indians of the Painted Desert Region 146
Johnson, Francis. Famous Assassinations of History 147
JuDSO.N, H. P. The Essentials of a Written Constitution 534
Keller, A. G. Queries in Ethnography 35^
Kelsey, Carl. The Negro Farmer i47
KiTSON, Arthur. The Money Problem 35^>
Lair, Maurice. L'Imperialisinc allemand 357
Lanzoni. Manuele di Geografia Commerciale • 5 5
Law, a. L'Oeuvre de Millerand 535
Lee, G. C. The True History of the Civil War 5,¥>
Letters from a Chinese Oflficial '49
Levy, Hermann. Die Not der Englischen Landwirte Zeit der hohen
Getreidezoelle 357
Lodge, H. C. Story of the Revolution 537
Mackinuek, H. J. Britain and the British Seas 149
Mead, E. I). The Principles of the Founders 537
Meredith, W. H. The Real John Wesley 150
Mkvnell, Wilfred. Biogra])hy of Disraeli 537
MiTCHKi.i., W. C. A History of the Greenbacks i.=^o
Contents vii
PAGE
MoKisoN, G. S. The New Hpoch, As Developed by llie Manufacture of
Power 151
Xawiasky, Hans. Die Frauen iin oesterreichischen Staatsdienst 53S
(.)HTH, S. P. The Centralization of Administration in Ohio 357
Partsch, Joseph. Central Euroi)e 149
Paxson, F. L. The Independence of the South .\nierican Republics 151
Pettengill, Liliax. Toilers of the Home 35S
Rawles, W. a. Centralizing Tendencies in the Administration of Indiana . 337
Riis, J. A. The Peril and the Preservation of the Home 152
RiviiiRE, Louis. Mendiants et Vagabonds 350
Robinson, C. M. Modern Civic Art 1 52
Rollins, Frank. School Administration in Municipal (Government 152
Roosevelt, Theodore, and others. The Ship of State by Those at the
Helm 1 53
Rosenberg, L. J. Mazzini; The Prophet of the Religion of Humanity. . . . 153
St. Leon, Et. Martin. Cartells et Trusts 350
DE Seilhac, Leon. Les Greves 350
Smith, W. H. A Pohtical History of Slavery^ 1 54
Snow, A. H. Administration f)f De]>endencies 154
SoLEY, J. R. Admiral Porter 538
Stearns, F. P. Napoleon and Machiavelli 539
Strauss, Paul. Assistance sociale. Pauvres et mendiants 539
Strauss, Paul. Depopulation et Puericulture 359
Strong, C. A. \\'hy the Mind has a Body 359
Tarde, Gabriel. The Laws of Imitation 360
Thompson, W. The Housing Handbook 360
Thwaites, R. G. How George Rogers Clark Won the Northwest 155
Verhandlungen des Deutschen Kolonialkongresses, 1902 354
Watson, T. E. The Life and Times of Thomas Jefferson. ... 540
Weston, S. F. Principles of Justice in Taxation 361
WiLLSON, Beckles. The Story of Rapid Transit 155
Wrong,. G. M. The British Nation 156
NOTES
I. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
Conducted by L. S. Rowe
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. — Liciuor Question 3S4
Baltimore. — Liquor Question 371
Park System 555
Buffalo. — Liquor Question 373
Park System 556
Cincinnati. — Liquor Question 376
Park System 557
viii Liiiitents
PA GE
Cleveland. — Liquor Question 372
Municipal Ownership 172
Profitable Use of Water Meters i73
Park System 557
Cuba. — Municipal Affairs 174
Denver. — Franchises 174
Duluth. — The Liquor Question, General Provisions 380
English Cities. — ^Productive Undertakings of Municipal Corporations 175
Gennan Municipal Exposition 176
Grand Rajiids. — Park System 558
Michigan. — Liquor Question 387
Mihvaukee. — Park vSystem 558
New York City. — Tenement House Report 170
Passenger Transportation 171
Providence.— Liquor Question 377
San Francisco.— Liquor Question 374
Seattle. — Liquor Question 379
Washington. — Park Sj'stem 560
II. PHILANTHROPY, CHARITIES AND SOCL\L PROBLEMS
CONIJL'CTED BY MrS. EmILV E. WiLMAMSON
Associated Charities of Salem, Massachusetts i8a
Board of Charities of the District of Columbia, the Work of 565
Board of Control of State Institutions of Iowa 389
Boys' and Girls' Aid Society of Oregon 180
Charities Building in Baltimore 180
Charity Entertainment Promoter 398
Child Labor in New Jersey 1 83
Children in Great Britain, Condition of 395
Department of Charities, New York City 393
Indianapolis Charity Organization Society 181
Jewish Charities in Chicago 566
New Jersey State Board of Charities, Establishment of a 1S4
New Jersey Training School for Feeble-Minded Girls and Boys 186
New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, Report of. . 570
Prison Commission, New York State 392
Probation for Girls 562
Public Baths 180
Reformaton.- and Industrial Schools 563
Retail Liquor Business in Ohio, Attempt to Elevate , 186
vSt. Louis Session of Social and Economic Science Section, American Associa-
ti«jn for the Advancement of Science 400
Seattle Charity Organization Society . iSi
Success of an Indiana Experiment 396
Svstem of Charities in Washington, DC 17s
Conictiis ix
III. XOTKS ON COLONlEvS AND DKPKX DIINCI KS
CoxDuc-ED PY James T. Youkc
I'AGE
Agriculture in the Philippines, Governiuent KncouragenieiU of 1S9
Anglo-French Colonial Agreement 573
Filipino Students in the United States 572
Friars' Lands 406
German Southwest Africa, Revolt in 574
Hawaii 404
Internal Improvements in the Pro\inces 192
Philippines 405
Philippine Constabulary 18S
Porto Rico, Educational Progress in 402
THE TARIFF AND THE EXPORT TRADE OF THE
UNITED STATES
In considering the effect of a protective tariff upon the export
trade of the United States, I shall look at the question from a
business point of view, and attempt to measure the influence of
the tariff as it is developed in business relations, and shown in
practical results. I shall discard all discussion of theory, and
avoid all doctrinaire conclusions. I do not attach much impor-
tance to these considerations, in comparison with the actual results
of a fiscal policy, as determined by experience extending over a
long period of time.
Neither do I believe that it is worth while to borrow trouble
about the possible effects of our own tariff policy in determining
that of other nations. We have heard much recently about the
probabilities of a general combination among European nations,
for retaliatory legislation for the exclusion of American-made;
products from these countries, on the ground that their own prod-
ucts are excluded from the United States by customs rates which
are practically prohibitive in direct competition with American-
made goods of the same -general character. Fear has been expressed
that the United States will ultimately find the great manufacturing
nations of the world united in a trade league against us. I cannot
share in this apprehension. Nothing is more selfish than commerce,
and no sentimental consideration of national resentment against
the United States because of its protective policy, can ever bind
the European nations together in such a movement, and can never
induce the individual traders of any one of these nations to consent
to such a movement. Men will buy and sell wherever they can
turn a profit thereby. For such trade as is possible with the
United States, there will always be the most intense competition,
not only among the nations, but among the individual manufac-
turers and merchants of each nation; and always with the expec-
tation that the time will eventually come, as it undoubtedly will,
when the American tariff barriers will be lowered, and the nation
and the individual who already occupy some of the field, will be
in the best position to take advantage of the larger opportunity
to follow. The foreign trade of the United States is so enormous,
[i]
2 Tlic Aiuials of the American Academy
in comparison with that of otlicr countries, and its possibilities
are so unlimited and so alluring, that no country will l)ind itself,
by treaty or compact, to exclude itself from future participation
in it. Whatever we may think of Mr. Chamberlain's conversion to
protection, along the line of preferential tariffs with the British
colonies; whatever may be the effect of the adoption of his policy
upon our trade with Great Britain, the motive of retaliation against
the United States forms no part of it.
The whole course of the foreign commerce of the United
States, under a protective tariff, justifies the conclusion that
retaliatory legislation need not be feared, and that high duties on
foreign products entering this country, do not interfere, in any
perceptible degree or measurable manner, with the outflow of
American-made products. During the last twenty-five years,
although the volume of the imports into the United States has
nearly doubled, there has been practically no increase in the value
of the manufactured or partly manufactured articles imported.
This branch of foreign trade has remained practically stationary,
although our population has doubled, and our wealth quadrupled
in the interval.
Contrast this fact with the growth of our export trade in
manufactures. In i860 these exports amounted to about $40,-
000,000 out of a total export trade of $316,000,000, the manufac-
tured articles thus comprising 12.7 per cent of our total exports
at that time. In 1902 the value of domestic manufactures ex-
ported had risen to $403,641,401 in a total export trade of $1,355,-
481,861 — an increase in the export trade of 328.9 per cent, and in
the export of manufactured articles of over 900 per cent since
i860. But in truth the increase in manufactured exports was
far greater than is shown by the above figures from the Commerce
and Navigation reports of the Treasury Department. These
reports exclude from the category of manufactures a great number
of articles which the Census Offiice classifies as manufactures, and
which must be so classified, in my judgment, in order to present
any fair picture of our export trade of this description.
Among the commodities which the Treasury Department
classifies as products of agriculture, and the census classifies as
products of manufactures, may be enumerated such articles as
flour, corn meal, bread, biscuits, oils, glucose, glue, oleomargarine.
Export Trade oj the Uuitcd States 3
lard, sugar, molasses, wines, preserved fruits and vegetables,
lumber, etc. Some of these articles may be said to lie on the
borderland between the two branches of industry; but in every
case they are products of agriculture or of forestry which have
been increased in value and transformed from their original con-
dition, bv definite processes of manufacture. If all such articles,
which in a strict sense of the word are products of manufacture,
were so classified in the figures of our exports, the sum total of
the exports of manufactures for the year 1902 would at once be
increased from $403,641,401 to over $800,000,000, or more than
double what the official figures show these exports to be. This
fact should certainly be borne in mind in any attempt to measure
the immensity of our export trade in manufactured articles, and
the phenomenal rapidity of its growth. Only one nation on the
globe. Great Britain, exports an ecjual value of manufactures, if
the census classification is followed.
The record seems to demonstrate that in order to build up a
foreign trade in manufactured articles, it is not necessary to cor-
respondingly increase our purchases of similar goods abroad. We
have conclusive evidence in Mr. Chamberlain's speeches, that he
has studied and been impressed by these remarkable figures. The
whole argument might be rested on them, with safety. They are
in the nature of a practical demonstration that the tariff does not
militate against the growth of an export trade. But it will be
well to examine the actual situation with some detail.
So far as our agricultural products are concerned, the question
of the influence of the tariff upon the export trade in them, is
hardly worth considering. The world takes our foodstuffs, as
much of them as we can spare ourselves, because it cannot get
along without them. It takes our raw cotton, because it has no
other sources of supply that can meet its demands, either in quan-
tity or quality. It takes our meat products and lumber products
because they are better and cheaper than it can get elsewhere. It
can find no substitute for American-grown tobacco.
The factory and the farm have been joined together in a part-
nership which means much to both, and which is of great significance
in its effect upon our export trade. If we can supply the world
with wheat more cheaply than any other country, we can more
cheaply supply it with the increasing number of manufactured
4 Tlic Annals of the America)^ Academy
foods produced from wheat and other grains. The same is true
of lumber, and all the varieties of the manufactures of lumber.
To our immense exports of raw cotton there has recently been
added the rapidly growing export trade in the various products
of the cotton seed. Wherever we have a natural advantage ia
the production of the raw materials of manufactures, some portion,
at least, of that advantage must lie with us when we seek foreign
markets for the goods made out of those raw materials. The
n'\tural resources of the United States, due to the diversity of our
soil, the variety of our climate, the richness of our forests, and the
fecundit>' of our mines, exceed those of any other civilized country.
Whether our tariff shall be higl; or low, this advantage must continue.
If the above considerations are sound, it follows that the tariff
can exercise a direct and detrimental effect upon the further ex-
tension of the export trade of the United States, only through its
restrictive features, and the possible influence of these features
uyjon the relative advantages of our domestic manufacturers, in
competition with those of other countries seeking the same trade.
In so far as import dvities upon imported materials which are
necessary for the manufacture of articles intended for export,
may add to the price of those materials, they must, of course,
affect in some degree the development of our export trade. To
determine the extent of this handicap, it is necessary to look a
little closely at the manner in which the existing tariff law deals
with raw materials of foreign origin.
The first fact to impress us is that nearly 45 per cent of the
total imports into the United States, during every year that the
present tariff law has been in operation, have entered free of all
customs duty. Naturally the great mass of these free entries,
aggregating $353,590,060 per annum, on an average, are raw
materials imported by and for our manufacturers. So far as the
raw materials which they use are upon the free list, the American
manufacturers are in precisely the situation of their most favored
foreign competitors, and the tariff does not affect their export
trade in any degree. Those not familia" with the subject will be
surprised to learn, by an examination of the free list and an analysis
of the Treasury returns of imports, how nearly universal is the
free admission of manufacturers' raw materials. We need long-
stapled cotton from Egypt, to supplement our own in making
Export Trade oj the United States 5
finer yarns; we get it as free of customs as the Lancashire spinner.
We need raw silk from China, Japan and southern Europe, to feed
the looms of our wonderfully developed silk manufacture; we get
it on the same terms as England; and within the comparatively
short period since this manufacture has taken root in this country,
we have passed far beyond the highest point attained by Great
Britain before the silk manufacture began to languish and decay
in that home of the textile industries. We need rubber from
tropical countries, for a rubber industry greater in its extent and
its variety of products, than that of any other country. In everv
line of manufacture which depends upon raw materials of tropical
or sub-tropical growth and character, our export trade is unham-
pered by tariff restrictions.
On the other hand, there are certain raw materials upon which
duties have been imposed — it is not necessar}' to argue here
whether wisely or unwisely — ^for the purpose of encouraging the
production of similar raw materials in this country, on the theory
that they can be grown or produced here as advantageously as
anywhere else, and that they will be grown or produced as cheaply
as anywhere else, as the result of the home competition thus
engendered.
In a few industries the effect of the duty upon the raw mate-
rials has unmistakably been to prevent any systematic attempt
to build up an export trade. The most striking instance of this
character is the wool duty. The effect of this duty is perceptible,
not only upon the price of home-grown wool, which is enhanced by
some considerable part of the duty, but also in its curtailment of
importations of the most desirable varieties of Australian and
South American fleeces. For this reason among others — and
there are several others of importance — there has thus far been
no serious attempt to develop an American export trade in woolen
goods. The one possible exception to this rule, is in the case of
carpets. The American inventions in carpet machinery, and
American skill in devising attractive patterns, have enabled some
competition in this line, notwithstanding the handicap of the wool
duty. But in the matter of woolen and worsted cloths, we have
done nothing and can do nothing, and it is of very little moment,
so far as our general export trade is concerned, that we cannot.
The best statistics available indicate that the total value of
6 77/c' Amials oj the Aiucrican Accuicmy
the exports of all classes of woolen goods, from all countries, do
not equal $300,000,000, which is less than half the total value of
the world's exports of cotton goods, and is an insignificant sum,
in comparison with the great total of the world's manufactured
exports. The tarifT duties on the raw materials of the linen manu-
facture might be cited as another instance of restrictive influence;
l)ut the facts show that the world's export trade in linens, instead
of increasing, has a tendency to decline, and there are many
economic reasons why it is hopeless for the United State . to
attemjjt to Imild up a linen manufacture even sufficient for home
consum])tion.
The same considerations applv in a more limited degree in a
few other directions, and there has been much complaint regarding
the duty on iron ore, and the 15 per cent duty on raw hides.
I am convinced that the effect of these duties, in the matter of
our foreign trade in manufactured articles requiring the use of
foreign materials thus taxed, has been greatly exaggerated. The
duty on hides, first imposed in the tariff of 1897, '^'''-S roundly
denounced as an impediment to the development of an export trade
in boots and shoes. An impediment it certainlv is; and I doubt
if it has been of the slightest benefit to a single American farmer
engaged in raising cattle. I should like to see that duty wiped out;
it is of no moment as a source of revenue, and of no value as a pro-
tective duty; but it has not stopped the irresistible advance of
American-made footwear in the markets of the world. It is worth
while to prove this statement by the otftcial statistics.
In 1897, when the tariff duty on raw hides was first imposed,
our exports of boots and shoes consisted of 1,224,484 pairs, valued
at $1,708,224. In 1903, notwithstanding the tax, the exports of
boots and shoes had risen to 4,197,566 pairs, valued at $6,665,017.
In a word, our foreign trade in these products has increased more
rapidly in the seven years since the duty was imposed upon raw
hides, than in any twenty-five years prior to that time. In all
the other manufactures of leather, there has been an increase in
exports equally notable, and the value of our exports of leather
itself, has grown from $19,161,446, in 1897, to $31,617,389 in 1903.
If, therefore, the high duty is an impediment to the growth of our
export trade, resort must be had to some other source than the
official statistics to prove the fact.
Export Trade of the United Stales 7
And here another consideration enters, ot" importance to an
understanding of the question. I refer to the drawback provisions
of the tariff law. Under these provisions 99 per cent of the
duties paid upon imported aw materials used in the manufac-
ture of exported articles, will be refunded by the Treasury Dcjjart-
ment, under certain conditions and regulations. These conditions
and regulations are cumbersome and often difficult to comply with;
neverthe'ess, resort to the drawback privilege is general among
manufacturers regularly engaged in the export trade. A measure
is now pending in Congress, with every prospect of ultimate
passage, the purpose of which is to so liberali'<e and extend the
drawback privilege that resort to it may become universal without
detriment to the use and value of home-grown materials. The
enactment of this measure will, in the judgment of our largest
and most experienced exporters, do away with the single impedi-
ment to the further extension of our export trade, growing out of
duties levied upon imported materials.
There is another side to the question to which I now ask atten-
tion, as throwing an important side-light upon a correct conclusion.
It refers to a phase in the development of American manufactures
which has thus far received little attention from economic stu-
dents, but which, as I view it, is of paramount importance, in any
attempt to get at the fundamental truth. In many lines of
manufacture, American supremacy is so completely assured, for
one reason or another, that American control of the world's markets
has become chiefly a mere matter of business administration and
facility. The foreign trade has outgrown the capacity of the
home establishment; in considering the question of enlargement
to meet the business directly in sight, these manufacturers have
been brought face to face with an economic problem which they
have settled on ordinary business principles. To illustrate: an
American sewing-machine company finds its foreign trade increas-
ing so rapidly as to compel the erection of a new factory : it decides
to erect that factory, not in the United States, but in England,
where its foreign sales are the largest. Its business still increasing
it erects another factory, this time in Germany, or perhaps in
France. Here, under the supervision of American superintend-
ents sustained by American capital, protected by American
patents, inspired by American business energy and enthusiasm.
8 TJic Aiiuals of the American Academy
it continues the manufacture and sale of American sewing machines.
Two paramount considerations have brought about this transplan-
tation. Questions of freight and transportation are of great
moment in it. The matter of wages is obviously of even greater
moment. I sup{)ose it is true that, given American patents and
machinerv, American energy and system in administrative posi-
tions, and Americ-an methods of the sulxlivision of labor, manu-
facturing can be carried on in European countries more cheaply
than it can in the United States, by something like the difference
in wages paid in the two countries. In this statement I do not
take cognizance of the effects of trade-union regulations which
result in a greater restriction of output per employee, in certain
foreign countries, England in particular, than occurs in the United
States. Nor do I take cognizance of the further fact, that, man
for man, the average American working-man can accomplish
more work, in a given time, and better work, than the average
working-man of any other country, and can thus offset, in a very
considerable degree, the dift'erence in wages between our own and
all European countries. Conceding both these points, it remains
the fact that a constantly increasing number of our great manu-
facturing corporations are constructing vast plants abroad to
su])plv their foreign customers; and of course they would not do
this unless experience proved that there was advantage in it. I
have before me a long list of these establishments. It indicates
that more than fifty million dollars of American m.oney is now
invested in European plants devoted to the manufacture of various
American specialties, including all descriptions of electric apparatus,
sewing machines, belting, radiators, shoe machinery, steel chains,
machine tools, hoisting machinery, boilers, pumps, blowing engines,
mining machinery, printing machinery, coal-conveying apparatus,
elevators, match-making machinery, ])neumatic tools, and photo-
graphic apparatus.
The Western Electric Company, of Chicago, is interested in
extensive factories in London, Paris, Antwerp and Berlin, not all
of them carried under the name of that company, but all of them
established and controlled by its ca])ital. The General Electric
Company has three or four such establishments, and has recently
constructed a huge new factory at Rugby in England. The
Westinghouse Company has just finished, at TrafTord Park in
Export Trade oj the Unite J States g
England, one of the largest electric factories in Europe, employing
two or three thousand men, and it has other factories in Havre,
France, and St. Petersburg, Russia. The Singer Machine Company
has three large plants in Europe, und^r its direct control. The
Chicago American Tool Company is building a plant at Frazerburg,
near Aberdeen. The Hoe printing presses are made in London,
as is also American linotype machinery. The Draper Company
has recently completed its new factory in Lancashire, to supph'
the greatest cotton-manufacturing district of the world with the
American fast-running Xorthrup loom. This list might be ex-
tended indefinitely, and a fine field for investigation is opened for
the full measurement of this remarkable transplantation.
Much has been written about the invasion of foreign manufac-
turing capital into the United States, for the construction of
factories to supply the American market, in competition with
American manufacturers. A great deal of such capital has found
investment here, particularly in the textiles; but the sum total
of this American investment of foreign manufacturing capital is a
bagatelle in comparison with the American manufacturing capital
v.diich has found investment in European countries within the
last fifteen years, and is now engaged in manufacturing what are
known as American goods on foreign soil. The irruption of
American wares, of which the foreign manufacturers have com-
plained so loudly of late, is an interesting and significant phenome-
non in connection with the question under discussion. Far more
significant, it seems to me, is this construction of American factories
on foreign soil, to construct American machinery and appliances
by American methods, in direct competition with the strongest
foreign establishments, and in bold and avowed determination to
control the markets of the world.
Can it be fairly argued that the protective tariff is driving
these American manufacturers abroad in order to obtain advantages
for competition in the world's market, of which that tariff deprives
them at home? To make the claim, is to concede the contention
of protectionists, that the tarifif is necessary to preserve the high
standard of American wages; for, as this paper has endeavored
to show, higher wages are the only handicap of American manu-
facturers seeking foreign markets, of any moment, which can be
directly or indirectly attributed to the existence of the tarifif. On
lo The Ainiais of ilic Aincritaii Acuiciny
the other hand, the (luesiion may fairly be asked whether our
manufacturers would have been able to invade foreign markets
from the vantage-j^oint of foreign soil, if they had not grown so
powerful and so masterful, under the protective laws which gave
them complete control of the American markets during the period
of their infancy and adolescence? To argue this question is to
plunge into the polemics of the subject; and this is ground upon
which it is no part of my purpose to enter.
1 will conclude, therefore, by brief allusion to an aspect of the
subject suggested by this remarkable invasion of American manti-
facturing capital and enterprise into European countries, for the
purpose of hand-to-hand competition on their own soil. It will
necessarily result — it has already resulted — in a large diminution
of our export trade in American manufactures.
Instead of making in America electrical apparatus, cotton
looms, all kinds of machinery, tools, etc., to ship abroad for sale, our
manufacturers will increasingly produce these wares abroad for
their foreign trade, and the statistics of our exports will be corre-
spondingly reduced. They are already so reduced in value and
amount to many millions of dollars every year. It may easily come
about, in the course of time, that the volume of our foreign trade
in manufactures, instead of increasing by leaps and bounds, as
it has been doing, will gradually become stationary, and even show
a decline. And yet all the time, the actual contribution which
the United States makes to the world's commerce in manufactures,
will have continued to increase, and will be hidden in the export
statistics of the countries to which they have transplanted their
mills and machine shops.
All this adds another to many evidences of the rapid advance
of what may be called the internationalism of trade. The geograph-
ical boundaries of nations are ignored in the stupendous enterprise
of modern industrialism. Tariff laws cannot restrain it or control
it. Local prejudices cannot circumscribe it; the w^orld is the field
of the twentieth century cntrepcnciir; and in the competition for
the world's trade, the American manufacturer has the advantage
over all the rest. He has behind him a country of unlimited
resource; he has the daring and adventuresome spirit which our
institutions and our conditions encourage and develop; he has
the command of the unlimited capital which our industry and
Export Trade of the United States ii
enterprise have created; and, not the least among his advantages,
he knows how to do it, because his American training has taught
him how. To what extent the protective policy has played a part
in the matter, I do not undertake to say. But I declare my belief
that the American tariff is no obstacle whatever in the way of the
eventual outcome. Many of us will live to see the day when the
supremacy of the United States, as the world's manufacturer,
will be an undisputed and self-evident fact.
S. N. D. North.
Washington, D. C.
THE TARIFF RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES AND
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
At the present time cuscoms duties, at revenue rates, are
collected by the insular government upon practically all goods
imported into the Philippines and upon certain goods exported
therefrom. The import taxes apply to goods coming from the
United States in precisely the same manner as to goods from
foreign countries. But the export duties apply only in part to
wares going from the Philippines to the United States, for a draw-
back equal to the export tax is allowed whenever products of the
islands are entered for use and consumption in the United States.
Similar taxes have been imposed in the islands ever since the
occupation of Manila by the American troops. The revenues
derived from these taxes are paid into the insular treasury
and are expended for the support of the government in the
islands. They constitute over 80 per cent of the gross receipts
of the government, or about 95 per cent of the net receipts
available, under the present arrangements, for general purposes.
Their loss would be a very serious matter to the government in
the islands.
At the present time, also, customs duties are levied at the rate
of 75 per cent of the Dingley tariff upon all products originating
in the Philippines imported into the United States and at full rates
upon all other goods coming from the Philippines. The revenue
derived from these taxes, which is not very considerable, is, also,
appropriated to the benefit of the insular government.' From
the time of the American occupation of the islands to the approval
of the act of March 8, 1902, which established the present tariff
relations between the islands and the United States, duties were
collected at the regular rates of the Dingle}^ tariff, except for the
interval between the decision of the Supreme Court (December,
' In one sense this arrangement results in a loss to the insular treasury. For in 1002 the
flrawbacks allowed on account of the export duties paid amounted to $385,000, while the duties
collected were only S-.^.ooo, a net loss, over what would have been rece ved had the export
duties been retained, of S31 2,000. See the "Monthly Summary of the Commerce of the Philip-
pine Islands," for December, 1902, p. 636.
[12]
PJiilippiuc Islands Tariff Kclatious 13
igoi) in the case of " Fourteen Diamond Rings," Emil J. Pepke.
c aimant. vs. the United States, and the approval of that act.^
For reasons which will be discussed more fully below, the
customs duties collected in the islands are considered indispen-
sable on account of the revenues they yield. These duties, if
collected at all, must apply equally to goods from the United States
and to goods from Spain, because under Article IV of the treaty
o Paris, this country agreed, for a term of ten years, ending April
1 1, igog, to "admit Spanish ships and merchandise to the ports of
the Philippine Islands on the same terms as ships and merchandise
of the United States." This provision of the treaty would be com-
paratively unimportant if Spain were the only country beside the
United States to enjoy under it any privileges in the way of free
trade or tariff reduction that may be arranged for the benefit of
our manufacturers. But the view has been advanced that under
"the most favored nation clause" in our commercial treaties so
many other nations will claim the right to participate in these
privileges that the insular revenue from the customs svs em will
be seriously impaired. It may. of course, be argued that the agree-
ment ^^'ith Spain was a special concession in the nature of part of
the purchase price of the islands and that other countries cannot
claim the same privilege. But it would be better if the necessity
for raising the question could be avoided. There are no very
cogent economic reasons which can be urged in favor of giving
the United States any advantage over other nations in selling wares
in the i.slands, when the sole obstacle is a tariff to raise revenues
which are much needed in the islands and which cannot be had so
well in an}' other way. The political argument that the revenues
are needed overrules any plea of mere sentiment. ^Moreover, even
if the exemptions were confined to the United States and Spain, it
would be extremely difficult to prevent the products of other nations
from coming in, via Spain. The old Spanish tariff allowed a heavy
preferential on Spanish merchandise, and the merchants of other
European countries took advantage of this provision by establish-
ing houses or factories in Spain in order to make their goods tech-
nically Spanish. These old arrangements could the more easily
be revived, now that Spain has no interest to limit or prevent them.
-' The force of the decision was that the duties collected on goods from the Philippines after
the exchange of ratifications of the treaty of Paris, and until the approval of the act of March
■ 8, 1902, were illegal. This period was from April ii, 1.S99, to March S, 1902.
14 llic Atiuals of the Ajticiicaii Academy
It is not necessary for the purposes of this paper to revi w the
intricacies of the arguments or to analyze the decisions in the
famous insular cases in which the Supreme Court passed upon the
constitutionality o.' these tariffs. It is sufficient for our present
purpose to state the results So far as he tariff in he i lands is
concerned, the decisions of the Supreme Court estab.ished two
periods during each of which the legality of these duties res ed on
a different basis. First, there was the period during which war
continued, presumably both the war with Spain and that with the
in urgents, namely, from the occupation of Manila down to the
Fourth of July, 1902, when the President issued his proclamation
declaring that peace existed In the Phi'ippines, excepi in the terri-
tory occupied by the Moros.-'' 'During this period the right to col-
lect duties in the Philippines, both upon imports and exports, no
matter what their origin, rested on the power of the President as
CGinmander-in-chief of the army to do whatever mav in his judg-
ment be necessary for the successul prosecution of war. A deci-
; ion by hiin that the imposition of duties is necessary in the territory
where war exists cannot be reviewed by the courts. The duties
collected by the civil government, so called, under Governor Taft,
rested at first on the military authority of the President, iust as did
those collected by the military government which preceded it ; for
the source of its authority was the same, the distinction between
military and civil in the affairs of the islands being simply one of
convenience.
The second period was that after peace had been declared.
It continues to the present time. The authority for the duties
now imposed is found in the act of March 8, 1902, the constitution-
ality of which is to be assumed from the fact that a precisely similar
act applied to Porto Rico was found to be constitutional. This
had been called in question because of a supposed conflict with that
clause of the Constitution which requires that "a 1 duties, imposts
and excises shall be unifonn throughout the United States." The
' The Supreme Court of the United States has not passed directly upon the duties collected
in the islands in the period from the close of the Spanish'war to the passage of the act (jf Man h
8, 1902. The statement in the text is to that extent merely the opinion of the present wntcr-
but it is sustained by several decisions of the Court of Customs Appeals of the Philippinf Island.";,
notably in case No. i8. The doubtful points are: whether an insurrection not reprepented by
any organized government calls into being the military authority of the President to the same
extent as a war with a foreign nation: and whether the "insurgents" were more than lancU
of rohljers incapaVjle of creating "war."
Philippine Islands Tarifj Kclaiions 15
Sup erne Court, by inventing a distinction between "foreign terri-
to y in an international sense" and "foreign territory in a domestic
sense," found a way to sanction the lack of uniformity in duties
between our insular possessions and the rest of the United States.
It also decided that the power to provide a government for terri-
tory acquired as were the Philippines, rested wholly in Congress;
and that Congress could constitutionally sanction the levying of
dutie^. in such territory. The act of March 8, having sanctioned
the tariff prepared and put in force by the United States Philippine
Commission, the present duties are fully sustained.
The constitutionality of the export duties collected in the
islands forms, in the minds of some people, a separate and distinct
question, on account of the special reference to export duties in the
Constitution and of the noveltvof such duties in American practice.
They rest, however, upon precisely the same grounds as the import
duties levied in the islands and were equally legal in each of the
same two periods. The Federal Constitution declares that Con-
gress has no power to levy a tax or a duty on articles exported from
a State. But the Philippines, according to the Supreme Court, are
n-jt even analogous to a State and therefore these duties do not
come under this prohibition. The Constitution further declares
that no State shall levy export duties without the consent of Con-
gress, clearly implying that such duties might be levied with the
consent of Congress. If, therefore, the Philippines should be
regarded as analogous to a State, the consent of Congress having
been obtained the insular government could collect export duties.
On either horn of the dilemma these export duties are legal.
The constitutionality of duties levied on goods coming from
the Philippines to the United States rests on different grounds in
each of three distinct periods. The first was the period of the war
with Spain, during which the Philippines remained foreign terri-
tory in every sense, and consequently there could be no question
as to the application of the regular duties to goods coming from
them. This continued until the sovereignty of the United States
was fully confirmed by the exchange of ratifications of the treaty
of Paris.
The second was the period from the ratification of the treaty
of Paris, when the islands were ceded by their former sovereign
and could no longer be considered foreign soil, until Congress
1 6 The Annals of iJic American Academy
determined what the duties should be b}' the act of March S, 1902.
;This was a sort of interregnum during which any duties levied on
goods coming from the Philippines were illegal.
The third or present period is that since the passage of the act
of March 8, 1902. The duties now levied upon goods coming frcm
the Philippines to the United States rest upon the same grounds
as those upon goods from the United States to the Philippines.
Thev may be of any character that Congress shall provide.
Whatever may be thought of the general logic of the decisions
of the Supreme Court in the insular cases as to the limits of the
Constitution, and however much the fact that the court was so
evenly divided may seem to detract from the weight of the rulings
in these cases, their effect is eminently beneficial to the islands.
Moreover, the only other conceivable line of decisions would have
entailed very serious misfortunes for the islands. Ordinari y
nothing is more futile than to speculate as to what might have
been, had history taken a different turn at a parting of the ways.
But, inasmuch as Congress is persistently urged to put into force
by statute, which it has the power to do, the only other principles
which the Supreme Court could conceivably have followed, it is
not altogether a waste of time to state briefly what the conse-
c^uences would be. It is conceivable that the Supreme Court might
have decided that the Constitution extended propria vigorc to the
territory acquired as a result of the war. The consequences of
such a decision would have been the same as if Congress were now
to draw the Philippines within the wall of the Dingley tarifT and
establish free trade between the islands and the United States.
Waiving, for the moment only, the possibility that under the treaty
of Paris free trade between the United States and the Philippines
means free trade between the Philippines and Spain and may mean
free trade between the Philippines and all the leading commercial
nations and a possible breaking down of the tariff wall at that
point, we may state briefly what the consequences would be under
the assumption that the wall would stand.
The Dingley tariff was designed especially to foster and pro-
tect manufacturing industries, in a country lying in the temperate
zone. It is no more suited to the industries and commerce of a
strictly tropical country than are the garments worn in a tem])era!e
climate suitable for wear in the sweltering heat of Manila. The
Philippine Islaihls Tarijj Relations 17
protective features would not l)enefit the islands, for the industries
we foster in this way cannot exist there; and carrying tlie increased
cost of all niantifactvired commodities would iuTpose a staggering
burden on the ])roductive industries of the islands. The very
things, the price of which we strive to enhance by our protective
duties, are the things which the Filipino takes in payment for the
products of his soil and the fruits of his labor. To raise their price
in order to protect industries he cannot have is like making him
wear a heavy ulster to protect him from icy winds that never blow,
and uselessly frittering away his strength by compelling him to
wear it under the fiery rays of a coppery sun. The advantages of
free t"ade between the islands and the United States would relieve
him to some extent, but not enough to offset the burden.
Possibly, however, under the interpretation of the treatv of
Paris suggested above, all the leading commercial nations would,
if free trade existed between the United States and the Philippines,
enjoy free trade in the Philippines and the tariff wall might be
broken down at that point. It would, of course, still be possible
to prevent foreign goods thus imported free of duty into the islands
from being transshipped free of duty to the United States, but it
would be troublesome. The most serious consequence, however,
would be that the insular government would be deprived of its
largest and best source of revenue and would either have to be sub-
sidized from the general treasury of the United States, or resort to
heavy internal taxes which would at this stage be highly inex-
pedient. It is unnecessary and would as well be unjust to the
people of the United States to make them pay the cost of govern-
ment in the islands. That can be and should be borne by the
Filipinos themselves.
As the main argument for the retention of the customs duties
in the Philippines is the necessity for revenue, that may be con-
sidered first. It is the plan of the present government of the
islands to depend almost entirely for the support of the central or
insular government upon the customs duties and to reserve such
other taxes as may be developed for the support of the provincial
and municipal governments. The considerations which underlie
this policy are partly temporary in their nature and partly penna-
nent. The industries and commerce of the people need time to
recover from the ravages of war and a long series of other disasters
i8 TJic Annals of tJic AmcriccDi Academy
recently suffered. Such recovery would be more or less retarded
bv any very vigorous attempt to collect heavy internal taxes,
unless the money were immediately turned back in the form of
internal improvements. Customs duties will interfere with the
recovery far less. The work of building roads and bridges and
in general of facilitating the internal development of the country
was sadly neglected under Spanish rule, and almost everything in
the way of public equipment, except churches, has to be provided
from the bottom up, so that the provincial and municipal govern-
ments are in sore need of funds. The educational system has to
be developed and expanded and calls for large local contributions.
For very obvious political reasons, until the loyalty of the people
is thoroughly assured, all money collected by internal taxes and
hence consciously paid should be expended immediately under the
eye of the taxpayers. Such a use of taxes collected is an innova-
tion in the islands, for the Spaniards sent all thiit could be collected
into Manila and but little was expended for the benefit of the peo-
ple; but its very novelty will emphasize the tendency of such a
policy to create and promote a healthy interest in good govern-
ment. The same general considerations of political expediency
recommend that the central or insular government, whose impor-
tant functions are not performed under the eye of the taxpayers,
should be supported, so far as possible, by taxes the payment of
which is not directly called to the attention of the taxpayer. It
is again the old problem of how to get the necessary amount of feath-
ers with the least amount of hissing. As the customs duties now in
force are very much lower than those under Spanish rule and are
far more equitably adjusted, the people cannot but feel a sense of
relief rather than of increased burden in these taxes. The best
evidence of this is the increased importations.
Under Spanish rule only about 30 per cent of the revenues
was had from the customs. But the Spanish administration of
the customs duties was woefully deficient. In the best year of the
Spanish administration, 1894, the customs in every branch yielded
but 4,702,952 dollars Mexican, or about $2,352,000 gold. Our
administration took the same tariff with some important reduc-
tions and applied it to the trade which remained after the war
and made it yield $4,400,000 (in 1899). This confirms the state-
ment of merchants that they evaded duties under Spani h rule.
Philippine Islands Tarijj Relations ig
The wares which passed through the customs in the best year
under Spanish administration were reported as worth 61,600,000
dollars Mexican, or $30,800,000 gold at the rat? of exchange in
that year. In our first complete year they were $44,000,000 gold
and have been rising rapidly ever since. The small returns from
customs duties obtained by Spain were due to three causes: first,
the trade of the islands was smaller, the average annual tonnage
of vessels entering and leaving the ports of the islands during the
last five vears of Spanish rule being only half what it was during
the first two of American, and the prices especially of the great
staples like hemp were lower than they have been since the Ameri-
can occupation, so that the expressed values were lower on similar
quantities; second, the exemptions granted on Spanish merchan-
dise amounted to about $500,000 per annum; and third, there
was notoriously collusion between the customs officials and the
importers, which resulted in loss to the revenue and a falsifi-
cation of the statistics by an amount which cannot now be deter-
mined.
Our present tarift" in the islands is eminently more equitable
than was the Spanish. The old tariff fell heavily on necessities
and lightly on luxuries, in which respect ours is the exact reverse.
The Spanish tariff included many prohibitive duties; ours is more
nearly uniform at 20 per cent. This alone tends to stimulate
importation-. As imports have steadily exceeded the exports,
by an amount which cannot be explained by differences due to
freights alone, there is ground for supposing that our tariff has.
encouraged importation for investment and for the establishment
of ctocks of goods.
The advisability of depending on customs duties for the sup-
port of the central or insular government becomes more apparent
when we consider the possible substitutes for them. Under Span-
ish rule about 45 per cent of the revenues came from the " cedula"
or personal poll tax, which was a direct descendant of the "tribute,"
a tax feudal in origin and conception.'* The collection of these
heavy poll taxes was enforced by means which were decidedly
oppressive and it became the chief center and means of corruption
* For a full description of this and of the other revenues of the Spanish government, see two
articles by the present writer in the "Political Science Quarterly," Vol. XVI, No. 4, and
Vol. XVII. No. I.
20 The Annals of the American Acaitcniy
in the government. This tax was abandoned during the war, and
as it has so unsavory a past and is out of accord with the spirit of
our institutions, it is doubtful whether it would be wise to revive it
save possibly in the form of a light registration tax for local pur-
poses. The remaining one-fourth of the income of the Spanish
government came from miscellaneous receipts, of which the most
important were the income tax, the opium monopoly and the lot-
tery. The income tax should certainly be retained by our govern-
ment. It was in a form most admirably adapted to the conditions,
was equitable and easy to collect and is not unpopular. But for
the time being its yield will not be large and should be devoted to
the support of the local governments. It is the best means at
hand for making the Chinese traders contribute their fair share to
the support of government. The lottery, of course, we cannot
revive; but the opium monopoly offers a source of revenue admi-
rably suited to the uses of the central government to supplement
the customs. It can be made to pay about a million dollars per
annum, the burden of which would fall almost solely on the Chinese,
and it would make it possible to confine the use of the drug. This
is practically the only one of all the old sources of revenue that is
suitable at present for the central government. The new land tax
is appropriated already to local purposes and inust be kept invio-
late for that; it is in no way suitable for the central government.
There is at present under tentative consideration by the govern-
ment of the islands a plan for the eventual introduction of indirect
internal taxes similar to those in the United States, and it is thought
that these may eventuallv be made to yield a good revenue. But
this added l)urden should not be imposed at present. It would
inevitably be more costly and more troublesome in operation than
the customs duties. When everything is considered, it seems
beyond question that the customs duties now collected in the
islands are necessary and should be retained.
The tariff now in force in the islands was well planned, and the
only amendments it may need are those of detail to bring some few
items in the schedule into more perfect accord with the original plan
and purposes. This tariff was first prepared by the Commission
in the islands. It was slightly amended l)y the War Department
Vjefore it was finally approved, was passed September 17, iqoi,
went into effect November 15, 1901, and was re-enacteti by Con-
Philippine Islands Tarijj Relations 21
gress March 8, 1902. It is a tariff as strictly for revenue only as is
possible to draw. It was drawn carefully with a view to. an equi-
table distribution of the burden. It imposes a gross burden of
about 14 per cent on the whole commerce of the islands, and the
im;jort duties alone amount to about 23 per cent on the total
imports. With a few unimportant exceptions the duties are all
specific.
Normally, by far the most important item of importation into
the Philippines is cotton cloth, which amounted under Spanish
rule to about $4,000,000 per annum, and in 1902 to $7,200,000.
Most of this comes from Germany and England, although the trade
with the United States in cottons is growing. The next important
item is rice, which of late has come mainly from the French pos-
sessions in China. This is the chief staple of diet and used to be
an article of export. But since the opening of the Suez Canal the
market for the great staples of export, hemp, sugar, tobacco and
copra, has so improved that the Filipino can turn his energies to
much better use than the cultivation of so unremunerative and
laborious a crop as rice. The best interests of the people lie in the
direction of the greatest possible development of the products in
which they have so marked an advantage over other parts of the
world and in the adoption of a more nutritious diet, so the falling
off in rice culture need cause no solicitude. The rest of the imports
are of a miscellaneous character. The most important are animals,
animal products and meats, a little over $2,000,000; flour and
cereals, mainly from the United States, $1,000,000; liquors and
beverages, $1,500,000; iron and steel, $2,000,000.
If the import duties need amendment anywhere, it is in the
direction of lessening the duties on food products. Like all tropical
countries, the Philippines are short of products of high nutritious
value. The common idea that the tropics are rich in food is mis-
taken. Vegetables and fruits run to fibrous growth, and contain
relatively little concentrated nutriment, while meats are scarce and
hard to conserve. The canned, dried and preserved fruits, vege-
tables, fish and meats, as well as wheat flour and other high-grade
cereals of the temperate zone, are needed in the tropics to develop
more strength and physical vigor in the tropical races than a diet
of rice and cocoanut oil will impart.
The exports of the islands upon which duties are levied are
2 2 The Ainmls oj tJic American Academv
great staples whi 'h command a good place in the world's markets.
The export duties are Hght and are to be regarded as in lieu of other
taxes. These gr.-at industries which flourish under the protection
of the government contribute in practically no other way to its
support.
So long as it remains necessary, as it is at present, to raise
revenue bv customs duties in the Phihppines, questions of tariff
reform in the islands will be largely matters of detail. No general
principles are at stake. The tariff relations between the islands
and the United States, especially in so far as they affect the duties
on insular products imported into the United States,, involve far
more serious considerations. At present Philippine products im-
ported from the islands to the United States pay 75 per cent of
the Dinglev tariff and enjoy a rebate of the export duties levied in
the islands. The United States Philippine Commission asked for
a reduction to 25 per cent of the regular rates. The bill which
came most nearly to passage in the last regular session of Congress,
but which was talked out in the Senate on the day before adjourn-
ment, offered a reduction to 50 per cent only.
As the matter now stands, there are practically only two prod-
ucts of the islands that are likely to be affected by any changes
in the rates. These are sugar and tobacco. The Philippine
exports are: abaca (commonly known as Manila hemp, or simply
Manila), 67 per cent of the total exports; sugar, 1 2 per cent ; cigars,
7 per cent ; copra (dried cocoanut) , 9 per cent ; and a miscellaneous
list, all of which are small, amounting to about 5 per cent. In the
time of the Spaniards these proportions were different, owing mainly
to the fact that sugar entered more largely into the exports. The
proportions then were: abaca, 40 per cent; sugar. 37 per cent;
tobacco, II per cent; and all other, 12 per cent. Coffee and rubber
(or gutta-percha) are among the important probabilities of the
future. Abaca or hemp, which constituted, in 1902, $19,290,610
out of the total of $28,671,904 of exports, is now admitted free for
use and consumption in the United States, and enjoys a rebate of
the amount of the export duties levied in the islands. No ques-
tion has arisen as to the tariff position of abaca, save as to the
advisability of remitting the export duty. It seems of doubtful
pro])riety to continue this ex'^mption, because the islands enjoy a
practical monopoly of this valuable product, and the indust-y, at
Philippine Islands Tariff Relations 23
present the most important in the Philippines, contributes prac-
tically nothing beyond the export duties to the support of the gov-
ernment under which it lives. Copra is not much used in the
United States, most of that which leaves the islands going to
France, where the oil is extracted and manufactured into fine
toilet soaps. It is free of duty here already, as are also coffee,
rubber and gutta-percha.
The question therefore narrows down to sugar and tobacco,
and in connection with these there are many important considera-
tions to be taken up. The* Philippine Commission in urging the
reduction said that these products would not be dumped on the
market in the United States in sufficient quantities to injure anv
American industry and that the relief afforded the islands would
be important to them. The l>eet-sugar interests in the United
States took alarm, their anxiety being already aroused by the pos-
sibility of reciprocity with Cuba. There was more or less opposition
expressed on behalf of the tobacco interests, but it never came to
such vehement expression as that on behalf of beet sugar, because
Manila tobacco has no prestige in the United States and its com-
petition with American and Havana tobacco here will probably
not be serious for some time to come. Manila tobacco enjovs an
excellent market in certain parts of Europe, and until a taste for
it is developed in the United States it cannot be introduced here
at all unless fostered by very heavy differentials in its favor in the
customs tariff. Even if the duty were entirely removed, so that
it stood on the same footing with the domestic tobacco, it is doubt-
ful whether its competition would be serious save for Havana
tobacco. The diversion of any of the Manila tobacco from Europe
would tend to raise the price of all tobacco there and stiinulate to
that extent a better demand for our domestic product abroad.
The only American interests at all affected, or likely to be affected,
by the reduction of the duty on Manila tobacco are those which
have capital invested in the Cuban tobacco trade.
The beet-sugar industry, however, lives so much in the shade
of the heavy protective duties that its representatives have felt
the possible introduction of more tropical sugar to be a serious
menace. The danger from the side of the Philippines, however,
is not very serious. The amount of sugar which can be or is likely
to be produced in the Philippines cannot be very definitely stated.
24 TJie Annals of the American Academy
How much of it will reach European markets, how much will go
to China and Japan, and how much will stay in the Philippines
themselves, are equally problematical. The insular consumption
itself is always considerable and grows " with leaps and bounds,"
as does that of China and japan with every increase in prosperity.
The statistics with relation to Philippine sugar are extremely diffi-
cult of interpretation, and it is very troublesome to reconcile the
different estimates with one another.^ The exports of sugar during
the years of Spanish rule when affairs were fairly normal was about
200,000 tons per annum. During the war it fell off, and even in
1902 amounted to but 97,038 tons. It will be a sanguine estimate
which places the output for the, next few years at a possible 200,000
tons. The world's production of cane sugar for 1903-1904 is esti-
mated at 4,342,800 tons, against which the Philippine product is
but 4^ per cent, or less than 2 per cent of the combined output of
cane and beet sugar. The total consumption of sugar in the
United States is about 2,400,000 tons per annum, of which the
total output of the Philippines, even at the estimate of 200,000
tons, is but one-twelfth. The increase in a single year in the
output of sugar in Hawaii, which comes in free of duty, was more
than the probable output of the Philippines. In 1902 we received
but 5.000 tons of sugar from the Philippines, in spite of the fact
that this sugar came in at a 25 per cent reduction in the duties of
the Dingley tariff and enjoyed the advantage over sugar going to
* For the exports of sugar in Spanish times the best data are the statements in kilograms in
the Estadislica General del Coinmercio de las Isla^; Filipinas, published annually by the customs
in Manila. But the valuations given in those publications are not very trustworthy. The
next source is the reports of the Chamber of Commerce in Manila. These give piculs. The
picul of the islands is ordinarily 139.469 pounds, but sometimes the picul of 137.9 pounds
is used in making reductions to other weights and sometimes the China picul of 133^ pounds
is used. Care should be taken therefore in any citations from the reports of the Chamber of
Commerce to ascertain what figure was used in making reductions to other weights. Philip-
pine sugar is part "wet," part "dry" and part "clayed," and runs in many grades, of which
the United States Custom House has established tests for nine, on which the duty xuns from
I.I2S to 1.37 cents per pound less 25 percent. Great difficulty is involved in ascertaining
from the reports what grade of sugar is referred to. Manila, Cebu and lloilo are usually
reported separately and this affords a partial clue. The most serious difficulties arise from
the uncertainty of the crop year. Ordinarily Philippine sugar is harvested in December and
the grinding, etc., goes on into March. But large quantities are often shipped as late as August.
This renders it almost impracticable to compare receipts in the countries of destination with
reported shipments in the islands. Much sugar goes through Hong Kong and its final desti-
nation is unknown to the officials in the Philippines. Willett and Gray's and Mr. Licht's
estimates are those most frequently quoted. But these seem to understate the Philippine
exports. The extensive collection of statistics relating to sugar in the "Monthly Summary of
Commerce and Finance" for November, 1902 is the most available source of information, and
the diflferent statistics cited there are better reconciled than usual.
Philippine Islands Tarij'j Relations 25
other markets of a •, ebate cf the export duty of five cents a hundred
kilos, amounting roughly to i per cent. It would seem, therefore,
that the contention of the Commission is sustained and that the
introduction of Philippine sugar at reduced rates would not seri-
ously aflect the beet-su^ar industry of the United States. In com-
parison with the million tons per annum which Cuba will probably
produce, the Philippine output seems very small. But while the
Philippine sugar industry seems small w^hen placed in contrast
with the gigantic resources of the sugar market as a whole, or even
with the very considerable consumption in the United States, it is
a large industry in the islands and means a great deal to the people
there. The concession asked would be a small one for the people
of the United States to grant, but it is a large one for the Filipinos
to receive. The abolition of the beet-sugar bounties recommended
by the Brussels Sugar Convention of March 5, 1902, which took
effect in September, 1903, promises such improvement in prices
that the beet- sugar industries of the United States have been
inclined to modify their opposition to the proposed reductions in
the sugar tariff. Possibly the reductions prayed for will be granted
in the near future.
Carl C. Plehn.
University of California, Berkeley.
PROTECTIOX, EXPANSION. AND INTERNATIONAL
COMPETITION
The era of free trade tha open d with the Anglo-French
treaty of i860 awaits adequate interpretation. The low tariffs
that were spread over Europe by \he subsequent network of com-
mercial treaties were hailed as an omen of regenerated, almost
'beatified, industry by the worshipers of free trade. The vigorous
reasoning, which gave so much vitality to the intellectual move-
ment that accompanied it, lent to the results of that analysis an
appearance of finality essentially deceptive, and encouraged swell-
ing sentiments of perfectibility that were decidedly premature.
This reasoning was based on a presupposition of finality and the
analysis was one of an assumed static condition. In the light of
subsequent experience and in a world that has vastly increased in
population, in wealth, in complexity, and in sensitiveness of organ-
ization, we are now enabled to study more deliberately the develop-
ment of trade regulation and specifically of those attempts of
governments to increase the well-being of the societies over the
destinies of which they preside, by means of tariff laws and the
corresponding and accompanying commercial treaties.
Tariff laws and commercial treaties are not expressions of
benignant idealism. The real influences at work in a tariff cam-
paign are very human; and yet it is probable that some general
principles may be discovered through the mist of class and party
strife. While Cobden and Bright were presenting the moral and
stato-economic aspects of free trade, the English laborers were
clamoring for cheap food and the English manufacturers for cheap
labor. They won the day against aristocracy and rent-rolls.
In France, an autocrat in the first flush of his power, fresh
from military victories due to luck rather than to genius, desirous
of conciliating England for disturbance of European equilibrium,
entered into engagements with that country for the reduction of
tariff duties, on his own responsibility and against the general
opposition of the industrial classes. Napoleon needed but to add
the Mexican expedition to the Cobden treaty and his empire was
doomed, Sedan or no Sedan.
[26]
Protection, Expansion, and International Competition 27
In Germany, however, tlie veil of special interests that con-
cealed the general principle of development at work, was still more
opaque. The tariff policy of Prussia turned about precisely the
same axis that centred the rest of her statecraft. "Freedom with
science" was the motto of the fatherland. The reforms of Stein
and Hardenberg had been the means of throwing off the yoke of
the first Napoleon. The question of the middle of the century was
how to throw off the yoke of Austria. In 1853 Prussia made a
temporizing treaty with Austria, agreeing to common rates of
duties against third countries and lower rates between the two
parties to the treaty. It became a maxim of Prussian politics that
Prussia could never free herself from the domination of Austria so
long as she retained a high tariff. Every effort was therefore made
to convert the country to free trade. The Austrian treaty was not
to expire till 1865. Nevertheless, Bismarck, as ambassador to
France, and later in the same year (1862), as Prussian minister of
foreign affairs, entered into a treaty with France conceding the
most favored nation clause. Thus Germany obtained from France
the advantage of concessions made by that country to England.
In 1865, the year when the Austrian treaty was to have expired.
Austria made a treaty with England containing the most favored
nation clause.
Austria had looked upon the tariff as the first move in the
scheme of incorporating Prussia into the Austrian empire. The
policy of using a tariff as a step preparatory to political union was
clever, and has succeeded in some other cases. The disappoint-
ment of Austria, therefore, was greater in the case of the failure of
its tariff policy than in the affair of Schleswig-Holstein; the battle
of Koeniggratz followed.
The special incidents, therefore, that brought about free trade
in the three principal European countries were entirely different,
and yet the coincidence of the free-trade movement in the different
nations of Christendom, to which the tariff acts of 1846 and 1857
in the United States belong, is pronounced. We look in vain for
some general principle in the endless variety of particular political
influences and class interests. The social point of view is different
from the individual; in fact it begins to dawn upon us that if we
are to understand the general tariff movement we must observe it
over a considerable period. If we look upon tariff policy as inter-
28 The Amiais oj kic Ahuricaii Acadiviy
national, we cannot establish its laws by the observation of a single
phase.
But a new phase was not long delayed. The crisis of 1873
was followed by severe industrial depression sooner or later in the
several manufacturing countries, and sick industry- felt the need
of alterative medicine. The return to protection in France and
Germanv was accompanied by domestic phenomena not so dis-
similar as those which were manifested in the respective states
before i860. The phylloxera and war taxation in France, and
the reaction from over-speculation in Germany, made those nations
long for a change. Thev both enacted moderate tariff laws as the
eighth decade was passing into the ninth, and curiously enough,
soon after, in the same years. 1885 and 1887. they both put duties
on wheat and raised them. It was the agricultural classes that
especially needed protection. In Germany it was the agricultural
classes that had been free traders, but they swung rapidly into the
protectionist ranks in the middle of the eighth decade and were
enabled then, as before and after, to dictate Germany's tariff policy.
There were even indications of uneasiness in England. Agricul-
tural distress was great.
In 1874 England had performed the last act in the evolution
of free trade by abolishing the sugar duties completely. Soon
afterwards, however, the agitation for protection was renewed, and
first in the specific form of a demand for sugar duties. In 1880 a
report was made by a ParUamentarv' commission on the sugar ques-
tion. In Germany the change had been still more sudden. The
protectionist law of 1879 was passed only a year or two after the
last of the iron duties was to have disappeared, under a decreasing
scale agreed to in 1873; and France was no sooner free from the
yoke of Louis Napoleon than she sought to return to a policy which
agreed at once with the national genius and with the exigencies of
indebtedness created by the war and by the five-milUard indemnity.
We have seen that whatever may have been the adventitious
circumstances of the free-trade movement, it accompanied the
more or less contemporaneous consolidation and at least temporary
political completion of four great nations, England, France, Ger-
many, and the United States. Looking again away from the
special phenomena of the return to protection, we observe that
the new tariffs are cotemporaneous, in a rough way, with a move-
Protection, Expansion, and International Com pet:: :j
meat for expansion, which, slowly gathering strength after the
crisis of 1882 (France), 1883 (England), 18S4 (United States),
appeared in full forx^e as the world movement of expansion after
the crisis of 1890-93.
And now England becomes the chief actor. The protectionist
question was still agitated through the opposition to sugar bounties,
and the agitation was continued through many iatematioiial con-
ferences until at last success was achieved in the Br -fer-
ence of 1902. Protectionism in a bad form was " -^i
by protectionism in a more approved form. T^ -
tection in this form, however, has caused its for
trated in England along another line, more close?. . _ 1.1^ -^ .^ _ . .a
the policy of expansion. The proposition is now made by Mr.
Chamberlain that the mother country seek to consolidate the emcire
by means of an imperial customs union. This mc^r^^- - - ~ : - ' ^ ?t
coeval with the new protectionism. In the heigh: - r.
of free trade and laissez-faire. Englishmen talked ^
an incumbrance and expressed the hope that they . . . __ ^
take care of themselves — the sooner the better. But r
revival of protectionism, which, as we have just seen, was in Eng-
land connected with the sugar bounties, came an e — --" ^ - -fsion
about the loose connection of the colonies with thf ::tr].-.
In 1884 the Imperial Federation League was founded. The dis-
cussion has since been as to whether '.'--'- -Tical ob^e * -^ — ' r
attained directly or through an inQ-. riff wal" :
recement the empire, which was feii ti: A
great colonial conference, including repre^ - ._ . ;: self-
governing colonies as well as of all the impc: ' -^wn colonies,
was held in London in 1 88 7. It led, however e result.
The protectionist colonies could not agree to surr^: _,; .. y portion
of their freedom in the matter of taxation. Xeverrheless. the
movement bore fruit, for it led to a lively ag:" nies
and finally to the passage in 1897, by Canada. ... :„. ;. :_. .nant
of the self-governing colonies, of a tariff law giving the preference
to English imports over those of other countries.
The English chambers of commerce hold a convention every
four years, and in 1S92, 1896, and 1900 the motion for an imperiil
customs union has passed in some form or other. Mr. Chamberlain
is making no new departure so far as his own politics is concerned.
30 The Aiiiials of the American Academy
As earlv as 1895, just after the re-entrance of the Conservatives to
power, Mr. Chamberlain, as the new Colonial Minister in the Con-
servative-Union Cabinet, sent a circular to the different colonies
incjuiring as to the effects of foreign competition upon English
exports. The answer caine that there was no general tendency
to exclude them. The principal immediate result of the inquiry
seems to have been the establishment of a museum in London con-
taining a collection of samples of foreign goods that enter into com-
petition with English goods in the colonial trade. About the same
time, the Commercial Museum of Philadelphia was founded, which,
within the scope of its purpose as semi-official exploiter of foreign
markets, includes a similar exhibition. In fact the movement for
commercial museums and commercial education has been tremen-
dously stimulated by the international competition of recent years
and by the international segregation indicated by rising tariffs,
since such museums, through their display of domestic products,
are intended to intensify the art and individuality of the national
production. In 1S96 Mr. Chamberlain broached the idea of the
imperial zollverein, but met with so much opposition that he was
obliged to represent his position as merely tentative and to drop
the matter for the time being. Now at last it would look as though .
he had burned his bridges behind him.
More interesting, however, than English expansion is the idea
of the ' ' United States of Europe. ' ' The reaction from expansion
is counter-expansion; the reaction from the United States of
America is the ' ' United States of Europe. ' ' The idea of uniting
Europe against American grain export is as old as the export itself.
' ' America had formerly by its Morrill tariff aided the efforts
of Napoleon to create a network of treaties in central Europe."'
In 1878 the economist Molinari suggested to Bismarck a European
customs union. The stimulus for European international expan-
sion went out from American agricultural competition. Books
were written and quite naturally agricultural congresses were held,
those held in Austria being of especial importance, in the interests
of a European customs union. " The commercial treaties concluded
in 1892 by Germany, were looked upon as a means towards the end
of commercial union. But two great countries held aloof : England
was opposed to protection and did not share in the commercial
' Lotz, " Uic Ideen der deutschen Handelspolitik," p. i(>j.
Protection, Expansion, ami I nicrnational C(nn petition ]\
jealousies of the grain-growing states; and France, although one
of the greatest wheat growers in the world, was pursuing a policy
of economic isolation, for reasons apparently as much political as
economic. Moreover, important treaties stood in the way — the
treaty of 1828, between Prussia and the United States, and the
treaty of peace made at Frankfort in 1871 between Germany and
France.
The Frankfort treaty secured to France the lowest rates
granted by Germany to third states, and of course the middle
European states {i. c., Austria- Hungary) are third states. The
inconvenience of such an arrangement to a Germany seeking
further expansion is obvious, and in making their treaty of 1891
with Austria, the Germans expressly stipulated that if thev should
make a formal customs union with ''third'' countries, they should
not be obliged to concede to Austria the duties of the new zoll-
verein. Of course this stipulation was meant rather as a model
for future treaties than for application to Austria herself, since she
is now the country most likely to enter a customs union with Ger-
many. However, in 1895, upon the renewal of the Triple Alliance,
the idea of developing it into a customs union was abandoned in
official circles. Nevertheless, parliamentary debates and political
tracts have ccnstanth^ brought the matter forward : in the Reichs-
tag in 1891, 1895, 1897, 1898, 1899, and, of course, in the debates
on the new tariff in 1902; in international agricultural congresses
at Budapest in 1896, and at Vienna in 1898, where the delegate of
the German agricultural tmion declared:
"Our highly civilized states should unite and take common measures
against the injuries caused by over-sea competition. " -
And in the manufacturers union, at their meeting in Berlin in
1900. In 1897 Count Goluchowski declared before the Hungarian
representatives that the
"European states must inarch shoulder to shoulder, and defend them-
selves against the common peril with every weapon in their political
armories. ' ' ^
On the other hand, in 1899, Count Kanitz declared in the
Reichstag that a Eur.:pean customs union was useless, and in 1900
^ Ernst Francke, " Zollpolitisclie Einigungsbcstrebmigcn in Mittcletiropa," p. 221.
^ Id., p. 224.
32 Tlic Ainials of the Aiucrican Academy
the Social Democrats in convention at Mayence pas-ed a resolu-
tion in favor of commercial treaties between European sta'e^-, but
supported the continued use of the most favored nation clause,
and opposed a tariff war with the United States. The Socialists
are therefore again on record as opposers of the manifest course of
events, which clearly unites protection with expansion.
The protective system that came into being abou' the yenr
1880 was intensified by the introduction of the maximum an;l
minimum svstem by France in 1892. This system had been clearly
foreshadowed in the French debates of 1881 and again in the reci-
procitv clause of the McKinley tariff. The French system spread
to Spain, Russia, Brazil, Greece, and Norway, while the Dingley
tariff with its reciprocity clauses is an example of practically the
same policy. And Germany has at last fallen into line with
the comparatively high protective tariff of 1902. That "expan-
sion ' ' has been the keynote of international politics for two decades
at least needs only mention to carry conviction. The overflow of
German V into Africa and South America, of France into Africa and
Madagascar; the dispute as to whether Dutch-British Africa
should be united as an independent state or as part of a more
"expanded" British empire; the onward march of Russia in
Asia; the impending dismemberment of China and attribution of
its parts to European powers; the acquisition of the Hawaiian
Islands, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands by the United
States, and her protectorate over Cuba and the Isthmus of Panama ;
the personal union of a vast area ot central Africa with the kingdom
of Belgium; the federation of the Australian colonies, are but
examples of the general tendency.
There appears, therefore, to be a general coincidence between
the world movement for expansion and for protection on the one
hand, and, on the other, for political relaxation or at least the policy
of statu quo and for free trade. If this is so, we may infer that the
tariff is rather a political than an economic policy, or that it is an
economic policy subordinate to a political purpose, or that it is
partly a reaction from economic and partly from jtolitical con<li-
tions.
It is next in order to inquire whether there is any ascertainable
connection between increase of wealth and success in international
competition on the one hand, and the existence of tariffs, on tlie
Protection. Expansion, and International Competition ;^^
other. Of course this is an old inquiry, and the general conclu -ion
has been that it is a quest unattainable by the inductive :oad. The
arguments usually made by politicians will not stand careful ex-
amination and are often absurd. Among students the usual idea
has been that we are not yet ripe for conclusions other than those
o." the a priori order. Nevertheless, some of the general facts of
i iternational competition and of national production are interest-
ing, suggestive, and worthy of mention.
The question whether tariffs have any effect at all on the
course of trade, first claims our attention. It would seem that
we have an opportunity here for economic experiment, since Eng-
land has remained a free-trade country while other nations were
putting up their tariffs. Now it is true that there has been a com-
parative and in some cases a positive decline of English exports to
the Continent since the opening of the protectionist era, and that
this decrease of exports has been accompanied by an increase in
imports from the same group of countries into England. At the
same time, England 's exports to exotic countries have increased.
So far as appears, therefore, the Continental tariffs have excluded
English imports and caused England to seek other markets. But
there are other facts that oppose or modify this conclusion. Exotic
investment has not been confined to England. The Continent
has been a liberal investor in the southern hemisphere as well as
in the United States, China and the Orient We have only to
r member that Australia draws most of her imports from the Con-
tinent and not from England, that Germany makes large invest-
ments in American railroads and in African mines, and that France
exports heavily to South America.
Therefore, if the Continental tariffs have changed the course
of England's trade, it must be rather because they have fostered
home production than because they have in the long run directly
excluded English imports. On this point again, it is difficult to
reach definite conclusions. No clear difference can be drawn in
respect to the stimulus to production and the resulting increase in
wealth and commerce, between periods of high and those of low
tariff.
The production of iron is recognized as a most significant index
of industrial prosperity, and an inspection of the accompanying
table will be so instructive as to call for little commentarv.
34
The Annals of the American Academy
Production of Pig Iron — Tons.
[From Mulhall, " Dictionary of Statistics," pp. 332, 757.]
Date.
Great
Britain.
France.
Germany.
United
States.
Various.
T.jtal.
1840
1,390,000
350,000
170,000
290,000
480,000
2,680.000
1850
2,250,000
570,000
402,000
560,000
640,000
4,422.000
i860
3,830,000
900,000
530,000
820,000
1 ,100,000
7,180,000
1870
5,960,000
1 ,180,000
1 ,390,000
1 ,670,000
1 ,710,000
1 1 ,910,000
1880
7,750,000
i,73o,°oo
2,730,000
3,840,000
2,090 000
18,140,000
188s
7,420,000
1,630,000
3,690,000
4,050,000
2,310,000
19,100 ,000
1889
8,250,000
X, 7 20 ,000
4,530,000
7,600,000
3,060,000
25,160,000
1895
8,020,000
2,010,000
5,790,000
9,450,000
29,300 000
1899*
7,928,647*
2, 714, 000*
8,150,000
15,878, 3.S4^
Under approximate free trade, or at least a descending scale
of duties, iron smelting made its most rapid progress in Germany
from i860 to 1880. It is true that the progress was more rapid
before 1873, when the pig-iron duties were removed, than in any-
other period; but the absolute additions to the output were larger
in the free-trade era, 1873-1879, than previously or than in any
subsequent period, except the remarkable development since 1895.
Under practically prohibitive tariffs, the increase in the United
States has fluctuated with good and bad times, while the figures
for England show decided effects of foreign competition. That
these effects could have been avoided had England adopted a pro-
tective tariff is possible. England's great surplus of imports was
long ago shown by Giffen^ and others to be caused by an income
account due from foreign investment; a protective tariff would
perhaps work out as a tax on foreign-created income for ihe s: ke
of home-created income. In France we find a slight increase since
the tariff of 1892. Perhaps the increase in France and the decrease
in England may measure the difference between tariff and no tariff
on iron. It is well to remark at this point that Fren h exports
increased from 1890 to 1901 by 11 per cent and English exports by
6 per cent: but that French imports have not increased at all in the
same period, while English imports have increased 24 per cent,
which puts the advantage in rate of progress on the side of England.
* 1900
' 1901.
*This line is taken from the respective statistical abstracts.
' Essays in Finance, First Series VI, "The Excess of Imports."
Protection, Expansion, and hitcrnatioual Competition
6^
A comparison of the recent economic progress of the United
States with that of European countries will help us to form some
conclusion as to the influence of their several tariff policies and of
that which is common in all their tariffs.
In 1 90 1 our foreign commerce was still only 2.2 billion dollars
coinpared with a domestic commerce of 28 billion dollars; and the
volume of goods exchanged between different parts of our country
was twenty-four times our foreign commerce. Our total trade,
domestic and foreign, was much more than the combined total
trade of Great Britain and Germany.
Taking production rather than commerce as the test of pros-
perity, we find again that, according to impartial statistics and
estimates, the American manufactured product is equal to that of
Great Britain and Germany combined. The fact that a British
depression and a severe crisis in Germany are contemporaneous
with the greatest boom that the United States has ever enjoyed,
renders this estimate extremely probable, though less exciting as
a jingo argument.
Among domestic products, iron, from its universal employ-
ment, has always been taken as the best barometer of good and bad
times. Our pig-iron product in 1899 was 50 per cent greater than
Great Britain's and 70 per cent greater than Germany's. In the
same year our steel product was nearly equal to Great Britain 's and
Germany 's combined.
Of course our development has been remarkable, and yet, in
many respects, it has not been so rapid as that of Germany. Since
i8go Germany has nearly doubled her production of pig iron and
trebled her production of steel, while in the United States the pro-
duction of iron increased but 50 per cent and of steel but two and
a half times. There was little progress in England in the same
items. In iron production there has been an exciting and close
race between the three great nations. United States, England, and
Germany, in recent years. In pig iron the United States passed
England first in 1889 and again for good in 1894: while Germany
surpassed England in steel first in 1894 and again for good in 1896.
The United States passed England in steel first as early as 1886, and
again for good in 1889. Germany has never reached England in
pig iron. Thus we find the United States easily leader in the iron
race, coming in on the home stretch in a canter, as it were, while
36 TJic Annals of tJic American Academy
England and Germany are making a dead heat by themselves and
well in the rear, England having the advantage in iron and Germany
in steel.
Iron is the material of our tools, but our tools and land supply
a much more interesting product, food. As iron is the typical tool
material, so is wheat the principal food material. Speculation is
rife as to the future of wheat production; and it is quite essential
to include wheat in our general review, as we produce more wheat
than any country in the world, or 23.4 per cent of the world's crop,
while all Europe, with five times the population of the United
States, produced in 1898 little over twice as much (53.8 per cent of
the world's crop, 2,879,000,000 l;)ushels).
Writing in 1896 Mulhall says that "one farming hand in .he
United States raises as much as two in the United Kingdom, three
in Germany, five in Austria, or seven in Russia. ' "* We must
remember, however, that the wheat acreage and product of the
United States slightly declined between 1880 and 1895. It is true
that since then there has been a large increase in area, from 34 to
44.5 million acres in 1899 and in production to 675 million bushels
in 1898. The period of decline in the United States was out-
weighed by the great increase in the Argentina production ; and
curiously enough, since American production has increased again,
that of Argentina has receded. But Canada has not been so
accommodating to us in her wheat competition as Argentina.
Canada's acreage has developed recently with great rapidity. In
recent years, it is estimated, a couple of hundred thousand immi-
grants have found their way to the wheat farms of the Canadian
Northwest. Many went from this country and became foreign
competitors in wheat growing.
In the production of corn, however, the United States is not
only ahead of each and every foreign country, but of them all put
together. She possesses a national monopoly in corn, furnishing
76 per cent of the world's product (in 1900), compared with 23 per
cent of the world's wheat crop. Her cotton monopoly is almost
as great as that in corn, or 7 i per cent of the world 's crop. Three-
fifths of the crop is exported, forming the most important of all of
our exports, manufactured or crude, although breadstufTs do not
fall far behind. We also raise more oats than any other country
""Dictionary of Statistics," p. in.;.
Protection, Expansion, and International Competition 37
(or 25 per cent of the world's crop). Our stock of cattle and hogs
is greater than that of any other country in the world. On the
other hand, our production of sugar, including beet sugar, has
grown but little until recently.
Since 1850 our production of wheat, corn, and potatoes has
increased faster than our population, while our production of
sugar, always inconsiderable, has increased but half as fast. The
Continental bounties to the exports of sugar, ruinous to Continental
treasuries, are to cease. It remains to be seen whether our sugar
industry is to profit by the change. We are the greatest producers
of tobacco, flaxseed, lumber, coal, iron, and copper. Our forest
industries are equal to our woolen, cotton, and leather combined.
We produce one-third of the world's coal, and one-half of the
world's copper. In the production of petroleum, Russia is ahead
of the United States in quantity; but in value we are far ahead.
We are the greatest producers of silver in the world, and we were
the greatest producers of gold during the suspension of the Rand
mines. (In the production of gold we were momentarily over-
taken by South Africa in 1898.) Our fishing and canning indus-
tries are very important.
While therefore our agricultural interests are still by far the
most important, our larger progress has been in manufactures, and
the general progress of the country, wdiich is greatly indebted to
agriculture, is nevertheless taking its tone from manufactures; we
hear more about non-agricultural industry than ever before. The
iron industries have claimed the most attention, although none
have escaped the recent reorganization and new impetus. From
i860 to 1900 the value of manvifactures increased more than seven-
fold. The industries which have shown greatest increase are iron
and steel, cotton and clothing, boots and shoes, and food products.
While it is true that England has been unable to compete with
American agriculture for her home supply of grain and jjrovisions.
she has been able to turn her land from the comparatively unprofit-
able industry of producing wheat to the more profitable industry
of raising cattle. During the agricultural depression in England
which began in 1875, we notice that the number of cattle increased
considerably (20 per cent between 1870 and 1887). Since 1890
the stock of cattle in the United States has remained stationary.
Again, the United States has sold considerable quantities of
38 TJic Auuols of the Amcricau Academy
its iron manufactures to England in the last few years. (From
$4.6 million worth in 1895 to $25.1 million worth in 1901.) Of all
kinds o:" manufactures, in totals, our exports to the United King-
dom increased two and a half times from 1892 to 1902. This does not
include exports of agricultural or food products. The inference,
however, that our export movement is accompanied by a decline in
British industry is hardly warranted. The fact that England is
able to buy more of us, notwithstanding that the exports in some
cases appear to be similar to those produced in England, would
seem to indicate a probable increase in England's purchasing power.
While in certain lines England is unable to compete with us, yet
in others she is holding her own and even gaining, as in cotton
manufacture, shipbuilding, and ocean transportation. The claim
that in the long run we are able to produce pig iron more cheaply
than England, is questioned in well-informed qtiarters.®
We must rememl)er again, that while the United States was
undergoing the severe crisis of 1893-96, not experiencing any con-
siderable revival until 1898, Europe was enjoying a boom which
culminated in 1899-1900; so that just as we came to our zenith in
1900 or later, there was a new period of crisis abroad. It is unfair,
therefore, to compare contemporaneous conditions — Europe in the
throes of crisis and the United States on the crest of a boom. The
New World receives its prosperity in large measure by transmission
from the Old. While prices were so low in the United States, caused
by the crisis of 1893, our exports were stimulated. The Old World
bought freely of us then, and this stimulus in foreign trade was
communicated to our whole industrial machinery. Europe has
passed along to us the palm of prosperity and it ill becomes us to
deride her, exhausted with the exertions that have been so bene-
ficial to us.
The boom lasted in England from 1896 to iqoo. In this
period the price of iron rose by fourteen to seventeen shillings per
ton and that of coal by two shillings. The profits of the iron indus-
trv in this period are estimated to have been two hundred and
seventy-two million pounds greater than in the preceding five
years, and the profits of the coal industry ninet^^-two millions
greater. While the end of the boom was due, as M. RafTalovich
'•' Jacob Schoenhof, "Iron and Steel in England and America," Journal of Political Econ-
omy, December, 1901.
Protectiohi, Expansion, and International Competition 3O
suggests/" to American iron exports, they were not a fundamental
cause of hard times in Europe. At any rate, our exports of iron
began to increase as early as 1895, and notably in 1896, to England
as well as to other countries. The earlier exports may have stimu-
lated rather than injured the English and German booms, by offer-
ing needed complementary articles ; the later exports were perhaps
more truly competitive. The high prices which we asked, how-
ever, caused a reaction; our purchases of English iron increased,
and the depression in English and German trade has been of late
much relieved by i\merican buying. While the United States is
the acknowledged leader in iron and steel, England easily retains
the lead in cotton products, with her forty-five million cotton
spill iles, against thirty-two millions on the whole of the Continent,
and seventeen millions in the United States.
At the present moment, indeed, the tables are turning again,
and the conditions favorable to selling abroad are returning. In
the United States, all over the country, money is tightening. Wall
Street is in a state of collapse; and a general reduction of industrial
activity is inevitable. The West, independent in its agricultural
wealth, does not yet feel the shock; nor will it suffer seriously so
long as crops are good. It is now the creditor section. In 1893,
when it was a debtor section, the crisis rolled from the West to the
East. Now the sweep of the financial storm is backwards from the
Atlantic coast toward the Rockies.
Abroad the financial storm center has been in Germany.
There was a great electrical boom in Germany from 1895 'to 1900.
In Prussia the income subject to tax increased from 5,578 million
marks in 1894 to 7,257 millions in 1899, the tax on capital affected
63,917 million marks in 1895 and 69,906 millions in 1899. Iron
production rose from 4.5 million tons in 1889 to 5.4 millions in 1895,
and 8.5 in 1900; coal from 64 millions -in 1891 to 72 millions in 1895,
89 in 1898, 94 in 1899, and loi in 1900. In 1900 the bubble of
electrical and other speculation in that country burst," and since
then the Germans have been scrutinizing critically and almost
suspiciously their trade relations with the United States. Our
exports to Germany increased froin 92 million dollars in 1895 to
'" " Le Marchc Financier " 1001-02, p. 15.
" Due to the fall in iron on the American market in the spring of 1900. Richard Caiwer,
"Handel und Wandel, fahrgang 1900," p. 11.
40 TJic Ajiuals of the American Academy
187 millions in 1900 — five years — while our imports increased only
from 81 million dollars to 97 million dollars. Our exports of wheat
increased from 60S thousand dollars in 1896 to 7.6 millions in 1899,
falling to 6.5 millions in 1900. Now this unfavorable trade balance
is a matter of great grief to our worthy Teuton friends. They are
fond of twitting the British with being a nation of shopkeepers and
the Americans with barbarous materialism, but they themselves are
undoubtedly extremely sensitive on the question of the pocket-
book; and certainly it would appear that they have discovered
some ground for controversy in their tariff relations with the
United States.
In 1892 they made a commercial treaty with Austria, in which
the duty on wheat was placed at about 25 per cent (22.5 cents per
bushel). By virtue of the reciprocity treaty of 1828 between Ger-
many and the United States, under the most favored nation clause,
the United States has since 1892 enjoyed the benefit of the rates
contained in the Austro-German treaty. Since that year, how-
ever, the United States has gone on making tariffs at its own sweet
will. When the rate of 1892 came in force, the McKinley tarifl
prevailed in the United States, and this country readily granted
to Germany free importation of German sugar. Subsequent Ameri-
can tariffs have placed a high duty on foreign sugar and a still
higher duty on such sugar as is said to be " bounty-fed," as was
the case with German sugar. Notwithstanding that Germany has
effected a sort of reprisal by discriminating rates against some
American products on her state railways and by various edicts
against imports of American meat products, the Germans believe
that they still have the worst of the bargain and feel particularly
sore about the growth of American exports; so that they have at
length put up their tariff, especially upon American foods. With the
cessation of the German bounty, the American discrimination should
cease, and less excuse should exist for exacting high grain duties.
Some German statesmen and economists question whether their
country ought to make an expensive dinner-pail by raising agricul-
tural duties; while others are trying hard to prove that foreigners
pay the tariff. They admit that a tariff war with the United States
would be aa expensive luxury, Ijut they seem to be determined
upon it. They are speculating as to whether Russia might not
be a source from which they could get all of their food supplies and
Protection, Expansion, and International Competition 41
thus make them independent of the United States and of Argen-
tina; and very likely it is in this desire to find in Russia a granary
that the reason for the inaction of Germany in the Eastern question
lies; for the Germans have flatly refused to co-operate with Eng-
land, Japan, and the United States, in hemming the progress of
Russia in the Orient. Russia, by her wily diplomacy and through
her favorable situation, has completely stayed the hand of both
France and Germany in the Eastern question.
' ' In case it is necessary to enter into a tariff war with the
United States,'' says Dr. Carl Ballod,*^ "there is no question but
Russia can fully supply the place of the United States. Russian
wheat is even better than the hard American winter wheat and
hence better calculated to mix with the fancy varieties of English
wheat cultivated in Germany, which are heavy but lack protein.
For fattening cattle, Russian barley is superior to maize. The
Russian barley export could easily be made to equal the American
maize export to Germany. Germany might give up all imports
of meat, raising it at home, and importing still more fodder from
Russia. In the case of cotton, it would be harder to replace the
American product. Germany imports three-quarters to four-
fifths of her raw cotton from America and will probably continue
to do so, notwithstanding that Russia, by a very high duty, has
succeeded in greatly extending her cotton industry in Central Asia
in the course of ten years. As to American copper, Germany could
find no substitute for that. ' ' Beginning therefore with a confident
declaration of the ability of Germany to dispense with American
breadstuffs. Dr. Ballod concludes with the admission that she can
find no substitute for American cotton and copper.
In the most recent period as in the earlier ones, we cannot
positively assign' increase of wealth or of permanent trade advan-
tage to tariffs. Under a very high tariff the United States has
made enormous progress; Russia has made considerable progress;
and France very modest gains. On the other hand, under a moder-
ate tariff, Germany has in many items surpassed the United States;
while England, with no tariff, has done far better than France.
But the most instructive comparison is that of periods taken
'- "Die Deutsch-Amcrikanischen Handelsbesiehungen, Schriften dcs Vereins fur Social politik."
Cf. also, on this point, Richard Calwer. " Die Meistbepunstipunfi der Vereinigten Staaten von
Nordamerica," Ch. IV, who admits that there is no substitute for American com available to
Germany.
42 The Auiials of the American Academy
as wholes. We find that so far as rate of economic progress is con-
cerned, no broad distinction is to be drawn between eras of free
trade and eras of protection. Progress is uniform through them all.
Is the conclusion then that the tariff policy is merely bnitiim jnlmenf
By no means. We cannot know what would have happened with-
out protection during a given period, and suppositions contrary to
fact are not instructive. The different effects of tariffs on different
countries at the saine time lead one to infer that they are quite
subjective phenomena, and that in different periods taken as
wholes they may also be of quite different importance. Tariffs
are a part of the general attitude of mind of the producing class.
In some periods national industry calls for segregation, integration,
and the development of national capitals, methods, processes, and
organization; at other times it claims a free intercourse by virtue
of which the attainments of the period of isolation — the above-
mentioned processes, etc. — may be exchanged, compared, and
enjoyed in common, with the result of a general leveling of eco-
nomic diiTerences, opportunities, values, and sources. This process
of alternate isolation and congregation is so utterly natural and
truly biological as to claim all the probability that may attach to
reasoning by analogy. The tariff is then a condition of progress
in so far as it is a part of the institutional or subjective environment
of its period.
Naturally, again, the period of protection is also the period of
expansion. It is when a nationality is not sure of itself, when it
is seeking to incliide new territory and amalgamate a new popula-
tion with the nation, that it wottld naturally embrace protectionism
as a means of consolidation. We thus arriveat the double principle
that periods of expansion and protection coincide, and on the other
hand that periods of no)i-expansion and free trade coincide; and
again, that in both periods the world's wealth goes on increasing with
little change; while the competitive fortunes of nations vary as
much in one period as the other.
The outlook then is for a continuance of the protectionist era
so long as expansion continues to be an active political ])rinciple.
The fact that the United States has always been in a condition of
active expansion has kept it constantly in the protectionist line,
so that it has reflected less than other nations the cosmopolitan
alternations of free trade and protection.
University oi Xehraska. W. G. LaNGWORTIIY T.VYLOR.
IXDUSTRIAL CAUSES AFFECTING AMERICAN COMMER-
CIAL POLICY SINCE CIVIL WAR
The public is familiar with the statement that the present
tariff policy of the United States is a legacy of the Civil War; that
the high protective schedules now in use are substantially the
sitne as those then adopted; and further, that these schedules,
pat into operation, as they were, to meet a great fiscal emergency,
have been continued ever since that emergency passed, without
either fiscal or economic justification. In the discussion which
follows, only the last of these points is to be considered, viz. : the
economic or industrial causes for the continuance of the high
tariff schedules imposed during the Civil War. Or, since the tariff
policy is only a part of a larger theme which is both fiscal and
commercial, it is desired to approach this larger theme from the
commercial side, as stated in the title of this paper. Stated more
fully, the question proposed for investigation is as follows; What
are the industrial or economic causes which have influenced, or
which, fr m the nature of the case, should have influenced, the
commercial policy of the United States during the last half cen-
tury — a policy whose most characteristic expression is to be found
in its tariff schedule?
The commercial policy of the United States, throughout the
greater part of its history, may be summarized as a fostering of
the Jiome market and a comparative indifference toward the foreign.
Why this has been so is a matter of common information. It
was inevitable from the beginning that a country resourceful in
raw materials would not long continue to ship those materials
across an ocean 3,000 miles away, and back again, before they
could be consumed as merchantable goods. Sooner or later the
factories were bound to migrate to this side of the Atlantic, just
as they are still migrating within the country whenever called to
do so by the demands of the market. Naturally enough, political
aid was summoned to hasten this immigration, and thus the com-
mercial policy was established which still continues.
The elements of a market, then, may be stated as: First, a
communitv producing raw materials; second, a community which
[43]
44 The Ainials oj the American Acadany
changes these into tinished products — both of which are in turn
consumers of these products; and third, the minimum cost of
transportation between them. The natural tendency, other things
being the same, is for the second element to seek the first and thus
to continually reduce the third. As long as these are not threatened
with over-production the foreign market is a matter of indifference.
Therefore, as long as the American producer, whether of raw
materials or of manufactured products, can find a market for his
wares at home, it is evident that the fostering of the home market,
even at the expense of the foreign, is wise commercial policy,
provided that the fostering doesn't cost too much. So far as to
the commercial policy.
The Civil War marks the beginning, lor the United States at
least, of an industrial revolution second only in im])ortance to
the Industrial Revolution in England which preceded it just one
hundred vears. The earlier revolution has been characterized in
its first phase as the triumph of the machine over hand tools in pro-
duction, the growth of the factory system; the second phase as
the triumph of the machine in transportation, the growth of the
railway system. The later industrial revolution has been charac-
terized as the triumph of the machine in business organization and
management — the corporation; but this fails to take note of other
industrial changes of the same epoch which do not fall within that
category.
There are two principal changes which are associated with this
epoch, although they have no causal connection with the Civil
War; namely, the development of the Middle West, the great
food-producing section, and the development of the means of
transportation from this to the manufacturing centers. A third
principal result, growing out of the Civil War, was the abolition of
slave labor in the South. Around these three changes may be
grouped bv far the greater part of those industrial causes which
have influenced our commercial policy since that time. Let us
notice them somewhat in detail.
The development of the Middle West had been going on for
several decades. The migration of population from eastern State
to western was but little affected by the great struggle of the
sixties, and the soldiers' claims and homestead acts drew many a
family into unsettled regions immediately after its close, so that
American Commercial Policy Since Civil War
45
by 1S70, more than the normal increase of population per square
mile is recorded for that decade.
Again, the war called the able-bodied men to the front. Who
were left to take care of the fields? The scarcity of labor must
inevitably have called women into the field, had not invention come
to the rescue. It will be remembered that it was just at this time
so many improvements were made in farming machinery, the
improved plow, the corn-planter, grain drill, cultivator, and
greatest of all in its labor-saving power, the reaper and mower.
With the disbanding of the army, the opening up of new lands,
and with the placing of improved machinery into the hands of
competent men, the production of cereals and other crops was
vastly augmented. It is not too much to say that a farmer of
the present day, by means of his modern machinery and imple-
ments, can manage from three to six times as many acres as he
did in the days of the reap-hook, sc^-the and flail. This means
the augmentation of production in the same ratio. The signifi-
cance of these statements is seen in the following table from the
United States Census Report of 1900 (Vol. VI, p. 23):
Total Production of Corn in Bushels, and Increase, and Per Cent
of Increase, by Decades — Summary, 1 850-1900.
Census Year.
Total Production.
1900 2,666,440,279
1890 2,122,327,547
1880 ; 1,754,591,676
1870 760,944,549
i860 838,792,742
1850 592,071,104
Increase in Decade.
Per Cent of
Increase.
544,112,732
25.6
367.735-871
21.0
993,647,127
130.6
177,848,193
'9.3
246,721,638
41-7
Thus it appears that corn, the most valuable of the cereal
crops, and the most characteristic of our best agricultural region,
increased in production in the decade preceding the war 41.7 per
cent, suffered a decrease of 9.3 per cent during the war, and
from '70 to '80 made the enormous gain of 130.6 per cent. The
decrease of 9.3 per cent during the war is surprisingly small when
the amount of labor necessary for its culture is taken into consid-
' Decrease.
46 The Ainials oj the Amcrieaii Academy
eration, and this fact together with the increase of the following
decade shows what strides were being made just at this time in
the settlement of the country and the invention of machinery for
increasing production. It might seem, from the commercial view-
point, that the agricultural products are relatively of much less
importance than the mineral, since the railway ton mileage of
the latter was 52.59 per cent of one year's traffic, while during
the same vear the ton mileage of agricultural products amounted
to onlv 13.22 per cent for the whole country. But ton-mileage,
it need hardly be said, does not express value, and is therefore no
index of the relative commercial importance of commodities
It will be assumed that enough has been said to show that
the production of raw materials, which was necessarily retarded
during the Civil War, went forward thereafter with an acceleration
which was due to something more than the temporary stoppage
occasioned by the war. Increased production, however, results
simplv in the reduction of prices, unless the surplus product can
find a larger market. To find a larger market it is necessary that
the cost of transportation be low enough. Before the days of
railroads nothing but a limited market was possible. With them
came the possibility of reaching a world market and good prices.
Now, what were the transportation facilities prior to and immedi-
ately succeeding the Civil War?
In 1830 there were 23 miles of railway in the United States.
1840 2,818 1880 93,2 0)6
1850 9,021
18 ~o 30.635
1870 59.914
The comparatively slow progress from 1840 to 1850 was followed
by a very rapid increase in mileage in the next decade, due, in part,
to the discovery of gold in California. Again, with the close of
the war and the largely increased agricultural production, there
followed another period of a rapid increase of mileage from 1867
to 1873, an increase which was largely responsible for the business
depression that followed.- By this time the main lines of railwa}-
had been laid down and the thoroughfares of traffic established.
But the freight rates were still too high to allow low-grade
freight to travel far to market. It was about at this juncture,
-Set' ".\mcrican Railway Transportation." p. 27, E. R. Johnson.
1890 163,597
1900 193.34'^'
American Commercial Policy Since Civil War 47
early in the seventies, that another great advance was made in
railway improvement, second in importance, perhaps, only to the
invention of the locomotive itself. This was the substitution of
the steel for the iron rail, made possible both by the perfection of
ths process of manufacture and by lowering the cost of production.
The significance of this improvement is that it permits the indefinite
increase of the train load, so far as the track is concerned, whereas
the iron rail would bear but a limited burden. The increase in
the train load means a vast saving in the cost of transportation,
since it decreases the relative proportion of dead freight. Hence
the decline in average freight earnings from Si. 7 7 per ton mile in
1872 to $1.10 in 1882, and to 72.9 cents in iqoo. has enormously
increased the world's commerce by making it possible for the
traffic to move. In 1868 it cost 30.49 cents to send a bushel of
wheat from Chicago to New York by the ''all rail'' route, ten
years later 17.56 cents, ten years later 14.5 cents, and in 1898
11.55 cents.
Let us dwell for a moment upon the significance of these two
events, wdiich, in their approximate coincidence, are enough in
themselves to mark an industrial transition of revolutionary
importance. On the one hand, a vast region of unsurpassed
resources, the population a nation not only of good producers, but
of large consumers as well, having the tastes and desires that go
with a high standard of living, and the means to gratify them.
On the other hand, the railway, regarded originally as a mere
handmaid to canal transportation, outrun at first by the popula-
tion, it may be said to have caught up with it and passed it eventu-
ally, stretching clear across the continent, with the Civil War
about central in point of time to the period of its greatest achieve-
ments. Then again, emerging from the Civil War, the network
of railways still incomplete, the steel rail makes its appearance in
the early seventies, freight rates decline in spite of pools and
agreements, and the impetus given to commerce is mighty.
The lowering of transportation to the seaboard, in fact, had
several important results. In the first place the Western farmer
could now raise grain for the European market to an unpre-
cedented extent. Thus in 1867 only about 8^ per cent of
the entire wheat crop was exported. This increased to over
20 per cent in 1870 and over 40 per cent :"n 1880. Another
48 The Annals of the American Academy
important result was that with a large amount of inland produce
thus laid down at our seaports — just the kind of commodities
that Europe most wanted — a large ocean trade was inevitable.
This in turn, reacting upon the ocean carrying trade, was influ-
ential, together with the 0])ening of the Suez Canal in 1869, in the
further improvement of ocean transportation, and the further
reduction of freight rates. This improvement is seen in the
substitution of steam for sailing vessels, the improvement of the
marine engine, the consequent shortening of the time and expense
of transit, and the establishment of numerous additional trans-
atlantic liners. A third result, consequent upon the foregoing and
more immediate in its bearing upon this investigation, was that
the cheapening of land and ocean transportation gave foreign
goods a much easier access to our markets. Moreover, since the
home demand for raw products could by no means keep pace with
production, the sale of our raw products in foreign markets created
a counter-demand for foreign goods. With a low tariff, such as
preceded the Civil War, there is no question as to what would have
become of the home market. Undoubtedly the continuance of
the high tariff schedules alone saved it to the home manufacturer.
Here, then, we have a series of industrial causes which were influ-
ential in continuing the high schedules previously adopted on
fiscal grounds. It is evident at the same time that the fostering
of the home market had comparatively little interest for the
producers of raw materials, whose surplus commodities must
needs find a foreign market. They might well ask themselves
whether or not they were paying too high a price for it.
Among the producers of raw materials the people of the South
are no less to be mentioned than those of the West. Natural
conditions would have made the commercial interests of the two
sections identical, but slavery changed it all. Because of slaverv,
immigration passed by to the North and West. For the same
reason the white population of the South, which was not too poor
to migrate, or not too well established to care to, was also moving
to a territory of free competition in labor. Manufacturing and
other diversified industries could not flourish in a society based on
slavery. With the freeing of the slaves the South found herself
almost destitute of white laborers, for whom the freed blacks were
by no means an economic equivalent. An industrial as well as
American Commercial Policy Since Civil War 49
a political reconstruction was needed. The slow recovery from
the devastation and chaos resulting from the war is evidenced by
the fact that the cotton crop, the most representative of Southern
i-.idustries, did not reach the figures for i860 for nearlv twenty
years thereafter.
It has been shown above that with the development of the
Middle West and the lowering of the cost of transportation, the
surplus product found a foreign market, and the relative impor-
tance of the home market to the Western farmer declined. With
the Southern farmer the same was true in a much greater degree.
The foreign demand for cotton has usually taken from 60 to
75 per cent of the entire crop. Likewise the foreign demand
for tobacco is greater than the home demand. Thus, if the
Western farmer had reason to question the expediency of fostering
the home market any longer, the Southern farmer had much more.
Evidently, the defense of the home market had to be shifted
entirely upon the manufacturing industries.
The growth of the manufacturing industries of the United
States since i860," to quote from a well-known^ writer, "has been
so extensive and varied that it is difficult to select the industrv, or
group of industries, that forms the most striking feature of the
period." The census for 1900 gives the capital employed in
manufacture as follows:
1850 $533,245,351
i860 1,009,855,715
1870 2,118,208,769
Per Cent of Increase from
1850 to i860 89.4
i860 to 1870 109. 8
1880 2,790,272,606 j 1870 to 1880 31.7
1890 6,525,156,486 1880 to 1890 133Q
1900 9,835,086,909 ! 1890 to 1900 50.7
Thus the amount of capital invested in manufacturing increased
ninefold in the last forty years of the century. Manufactured
products likewise show a continuous, though b\^ no means uniform
increase, viz. :
1850 to i860 85.1 per cent.
i860 to 1870 124.4 " "
1870 to 1880 26.9 " "
1880 to 1890 74.5 " "
1890 to 1900 38.9 " "
^Carroll D. Wright, "Industrial Evolution of the United States," p. 159.
50 The Annals of the American Academy
A comparison of the agricultural and the manufacturing
interests in the matter of magnitude shows that the total value of
all farm property in 1900 was more than twice as great as the
total amount of capital invested in manufacturing. In the relative
growth of the two classes of industry the range of per cents for
the successive decades is higher for manufacturing than for agri-
culture, showing that the former may be expected to surpass the
latter in the not distant future in the amount of capital it represents.
Compared as to the relative value of exports, manufacturing again
shows an almost constant percentage increase over those of all
the extractive industries, including agriculture, mining, forestry,
fisheries, and miscellaneous; e. g.:
Extractive Manufacturing
Industries. Industries.
i860 87.24 12.76
1870 85. 15.
1880 87.52 12.48
iSqo 82.13 17-87
1900 68.35 31.65
Thus the ratio of exports of manufactured to unmanufactured
products has gone up from about one-eighth in 1850 to nearly
one-third in 1900, the last decade showing an increase more than
twice greater than any preceding.
The shifting of industries within the United States is another
cause which is likely to affect our commercial policy. The center
of manufacturing has advanced steadily westward from a point
a little east of thci center of Pennsylvania in 1850 to a correspond-
ing point near the center of Ohio in 1900. The progress has been
l)y no means uniform, but in the last half century it has gained
upon the advancing center of population, and at the present rate
it bids fair, in time, to overtake it. Now how is this likely to
affect our commercial policy? It would be rash to predict; but it
is evident that the sectional support of the policy of protection is
liable to b? considerably affected. Whether the Eastern manu-
facturer will still find protection advantageous to his interests will
depend largely upon whetht^r the Western manufacturer is a
stronger rival than the foreigner, or otherwise. On the contrary,
both the Western farmer and the Western manufacturer can better
afford to be indifferent upon the subject, the main consideration
American Commercial Policy Since Civil War 51
being the finding of a market on favorable terms: for manufacture
as well as protection will ultimately be carried on at the greatest
advantage in the West, because of the reduction of the cost of
transportation to a minimum. This will apply, at least, to the
manufactures of the products of that section.
Similar to this is the beginning during the last twenty years
of the migration of cotton manufacturing toward the South. The
immediate effect of this movement is to create a local demand
for the protection of that group of industries, a demand, however,
which is not likely to make itself heard politically because it is
coupled politically with the cjuestion of race dominance. The ulti-
mate effect, should the movement continue, will probably be to
lessen this initial demand, since the supply of cotton fabrics will
far exceed the needs of the home market.
The relative increase of the manufacturing over the extractive
industries, as shown in the capital invested as well as in the prod-
ucts exported, may be regarded by some as a cause and by others
as a result of our commercial policy. More likely it is something
of both. Still more likely is it that the manufacturing interests
would have increased more rapidly than the extractive, either
with or without the stimulus of Federal aid in the shape of a tariff.
However, it is hardly to be doubted that our commercial policy
has hastened the development of manufactures, granting that it
has done no more. The degree to which it has hastened them,
the economic gain by so doing, the cost of the hastening process,
and the ultimate expediency of it all, are topics which call for a
descent into detail, a careful study of specific industries and a
cornpilation of results such as lies beyond the bounds of our present
inquiry. Moreover, it is not the results of our commercial policy,
but its causes, that especially concern us.
The industrial causes which have influenced our commercial
policy since the Civil War have been pointed out (with the greatest
brevity) under the heads of production, transportation, manufac-
ture and the shifting of industries. Another cause, of growing
importance, remains to he noticed, namely: the great develop-
ment of the corporation in the United States.
The corporation is not a new creature. In point of magnitude
and importance, however, its large growth in this country but
little antedates the seventies. Up to that date the question with
C2 TJic Amials of the American Academy
the people was how to get railroads built; with the railroads the
(juestion was how to control the territory. The answer to both
was the development of the corporation. The success of the corpo-
ration in railway management led to its spread over the whole
industrial field, except such industries as are necessarily local.
Now the significance of the great development of the corpora-
tion in America to our commercial policy is apparent in several
wavs: First, as affecting prices, both by means of the economy of
large-scale production, and by means of monopoly control of prices ;
and second, as affecting our ability to compete in the foreign market
and the counter-effect of this competition in the shape of retaliatory
legislation. With regard to our ability to compete in the foreign
market in manufactured products the facts have already been
pointed out. It needs to be added that this growth of manu-
factured exports has been coincident with the spread of American
cory)orate enterprises. Of the four hundred inillion dollars received
for exports of such goods in igoo, more than one-fourth was for
"iron and steel and manufactures of, not including ore" — -an
increase of over 377 per cent during the decade — and more than
one-half was for steel, mineral oil, copper and leather in the order
named, all now controlled by corporations, and mostly developed
by corporations. It is idle in accounting for this to neglect the
fact of corporate production as a prime element in American com-
mercial expansion. It is this power of the corporation in commerce
and industry no less than the ingenuity and skill of the workman
that has aroused the apprehensions of other countries. Moreover,
the corporation has not yet reached the limit of its powers. What
it has done in the association under one control of a whole group
of related industries it may yet accomplish in international trade.
The principal outcome of the development of the large cor-
poration as affecting our commercial policy is the demonstration
of the fact that we have reached the point where the home market
must yield something to the demands of the foreign market; or,
in other words, when protective duties should be removed or
reduced, whenever we may thereby gain access to other markets,
or, by the same act, destroy monopoly control of price in the home
market. The utility of protection as a part of our commercial
policy in hastening the establishment of industries may be readily
granted, provided, as was said before, that it does not cost too
American Commercial Policy Since Civil War 53
much. But that utihty has certainly ceased when the protected
industry is able to say what the price shall be in the home market.
It was wise commercial policy that dictated the protection of
steel rails, and thus hastened the establishment of their manu-
facture here, the consequent cheapening of transportation and
the great advancement of the country. It involves no surrender
of the principle of protection, and but manifests a judicious employ-
ment of the policy, to refuse it whenever the commodity is sold
at a lower price in a foreign market than at home.
Such, then, are the industrial causes in the main, which have
influenced the commercial policy of the United States since the
Civil War, or which, in the case of the corporation, may reasonably
be expected to influence it fundamentally. To prove a causal
connection it would be necessary to refer to the reports of the
various Ways and Means committees, the testimony heard before
them and the reports of the special commissions to investigate
the tariff. So far as any causal relation may be discovered as
existing between an industrial phenomenon and a commercial
phenomenon as reflected in the tariff policy, it may be rather
hazardous to assume that such relation was recognized and acted
upon by those responsible for our tariff policy. But those who
speak of ' ' purely political motives ' ' as responsible for the con-
tinuance of the war tariff should remember that back of every
political motive is usually to be found an economic or industrial
cause, and that as a consequence it is no condemnation of the
tariff policy of the last forty years to say that it rests upon "polit-
ical justification. ' ' It is getting much nearer the center of the
discussion to assume the industrial causes as antecedent to the
political, and to inquire how far these were local and how far
national in their bearing. An investigation of the material pre-
sented by and before the Committee of Ways and Means makes
clear one fact in particular: namely, that local causes and interests
predominate and that national interests are approximated by the
most judicious harmonizing of local interests that it is possible
to bring about. It is easy to criticise such a method, but this
does not condemn the purpose, and the injustice which has inevi-
tably resulted is traceal:)le to the crudity of the political machinery
rather than to the policy attempted. The time is ripe for another
tariff commission similar to that of 1882.
54 Till Auiials oj the American Academy
To sum up what has been said, the main conclusions are as
follows: I. The Civil War was a period of industrial revolution,
the chief events of which were the development of the Middle West,
the improvement of transportation, and the abolition of slave
labor.
2. These causes made it impossible to hold the home market
for the home manufacturer except by means of a high tariff. Grant-
ing the desirability of doing so, the high revenue tariff was wisely
retained on commercial grounds.
3. The shifting of industries within the United States does
not lead to a belief in the permanence of the policy of protecting
the home market, except as against counter tariff regulations.
4. The phenomenal development of the large corporation in
the United States has introduced economies in production that
should obviate the necessity for protection except so far as may
be necessary to meet counter-propositions from other countries.
In other words, production has so far outrun consumption, both
for the farmer and the manufacturer, that each needs a larger
market than the whole country is able to give.
Jacob Elon Conner.
University oj Pennsylvania.
RECIPROCITY IX THE AMERICAN TARIFF SYSTEM
The impression seems to prevail in some quarters that the
cause of reciprocity, as a national policy, has been discredited
and discouraged for many years to come by reason of the failure
of the United States Senate to act favorably upon the several
treaties negotiated and signed in iSgg and 1900, in accordance
with the provisions of Section 4 of the Dingley tariff. These
treaties, eleven in number and popularly called the Kasson treaties,
were submitted to the Senate in the 56th, and again in the 57th
Congress, and, although repeatedly renewed with respect to their
exchange periods, have finally lapsed and are now of little interest to
any one but the historian.
In so far as the reciprocity principle was outlined in and rep-
resented by these treaties, the view referred to respecting the
status of the policy is not without some justification; but, on the
other hand, our experience with reciprocity since 1897 has been
far from unfruitful and discouraging for the future. In the first
place, the people of the United States are distinctly favorable to
the principle of reciprocity, and desire to see it applied whenever
and wherever possible without injury to the best interests of
domestic labor and capital, and without interference with our
national revenue policy. President Roosevelt has earnestly com-
mended the policy and clearly laid down the rules for its proper
application in harmony with our established tariff system, repeat-
edly approved by the suffrages of the people. The Republican
party, in its platform adopted in national convention in 1892,
and again in 1896, and a third time in 1900, committed itself to
this policy, and the leading statesmen of that party continue to
advocate its judicious application.
The reciprocity negotiations initiated by the late President
McKinley, in accordance with the Dingley tariff, have not resulted
in the complete failure that man}' persons apprehend. It is true
that the work under the fourth section has been without avail,
but, on the other hand, the four commercial agreements con-
cluded in 1 89 8- 1 900 by authorization of Section 3 of the same
tariff act, and put into operation by the proclamation of the
President, without recourse to the Senate, represent a successful
and interesting test of the reciprocity principle.
There has been complete continuity of policy pursued by the
56 The Annals of the American Academy
administration in respect to this great question ever since the
opening of negotiations for reciprocity in 1897. Everything within
the traditional bounds of official propriety has been done by the
executive branch of the Government to give effect to the statutory
provisions looking to reciprocity arrangements contained in the
tarifif act of July 24, 1897. At the request of the interested
governments, the treaties concluded under Section 4 were kept alive
by the signature of supplementary conventions extending the
respective periods for exchange of ratifications, in some cases as
manv as four times. Diplomatic arrangements were also made
for the inclusion of the trade of Porto Rico in the commercial
advantages secured to the United States by the agreements under
Section 3. Furthermore, two important treaties giving further ex-
tension to the reciprocity policy have been concluded under the
general treaty-making power, one with Cuba, already adopted,
and the other with Great Britain on behalf of Newfoundland, still
pending in the Senate.
The consistent attitude of the administration in these matters
has created a most favorable impression in foreign capitals, and,
in my opinion, has contributed largely in preventing international
resentment and measures of retaliation against American trade in
consequence of the high rates of the Dingley tariff. It is true
that at the present time a strong protectionist movement prevails
in Europe, and even threatens to control the tarifif legislation in
free-trade strongholds like the United Kingdom and the Nether-
lands; but if this movement is actuated and encouraged by any
one trans- Atlantic influence more than another, it is the acknowl-
edged success of the American system of high protection. The
statesmen of Euro])e have coine to recognize that the wonderful
'industrial and commercial prosperity of the United States has been
firmly built upon the protective tariff system, and, consequently
in the recent revision of their own tariffs this idea has prevailed
There have been, it is true, two or three isolated instances of obvi-
ouslv retaliatory action against American trade, but the situation
is far l)etter than was predicted a few years ago.
It will be convenient to classify reciprocity arrangements under
two heads, (i) the perfected reciprocity treaties and agreements,
and (2) the unperfected, that is, those which, although formally
concluded (in the diplomatic sense), have failed of final adoption.
Reciprocity in the American Tarifj System
in
s
g
H
^
<
§•
H
<to
Pi
^
H
tiO
^
n
u
-ts
H
O
c
a
U-,
<ij
«
•*»
a
C3
CLh
hs
-s
" 01
,-H
§ B
'+J
• r2 O
ra 03
§
X ^!
<U V
4)
C ;3
'■(->
s
a
c
B
u
00
to ^
2
r^
^ \Q
ifi o
t-l
di
n >.
2 '"H "^
^ <
ii
^
S
>
-
vO
t^
o
it;
lo
00
00
00
o
00
C^
(>
_c
o
u
0)
U
^
6
s
B
^
B
>
v
cd
C/3
o
QJ
S
^
Q
N
rt-
o
00
00
00
OS
T)
^
*.
M
lo
o
MD
IH
60
00
rO
W
Vh
w
_
>.
lO
g
a
!U
:3
U
<u
•— >
1— 1
o
Q
o
03
Q
^^
o
O
§
^
«^
1
■l
u
.is ^
O o;
o
-•^
03
'^
o c
>% "O
03
>^
O
2
>^
"d
*4-« .f-l
bo c c
■!^ C
>>
■4^
ID
■£ c
S ^ ^
OS 03
^
03
03
•o
^
m
"cS
(Li
'a
i3.2 d
1
1-1
o 5
03
03
03
O
02 lU
-i-> ■--
v-
+j • >— '
■!->
^ ^° J
03
oS
fe
03«
:3
O
ffi
ffi
O
d
o
"aJ
•|
(U
>
o
c
01
X)
03
u
O
o
<
(i
o
<
c^
S8
Tlic Annals of the American Academy
U
a
a
a
o
<
Q
a
o
OS
3
<
c^
00
•o
>.
tH
^
rt
C
<
1
U <2 C
rt rt
3
01 ij
C
dj
CJ
W< V- Vh
000
^
V- r'
b£
U-> '-^
M-. M-i S-1
-r^
r- r-
c c c
-
, t— < ^— 1
„ ^
^
«
« (N
C« P) w
<N
00
M
Qs 0^ 0\
o\ 0^ c>
Ov o^ o^ 0^ c^
000
00 oc
00
oc
00 00
00 00 oc
OC
00 CN
O^ On On
u
M M
M M
M t-t ^
p^ —
M M M
.
.
» *. .
..
* * -
- » .
•^
M ^
M
H
W M
N in c
vC
•-« CI
PO 00 N
u
M M ro ^
<-
M w M
te
rC
W
"5 a. o.
<; C/3 (73
rt rt 0! c3 g §
^ S S S 1 — 1 ►— I
^,^> bi)
"3 '3 5
M t-
^
^
N
NOW
c
00
<N)
O^ O^ C^
o^
Q\ 0^ Qv O^ 0^
000
•s
00 «
00
oc
00 00
00 00 oc
OC
00 On
O- On ON
►- -
"■
-
H. .-1
M M M
" "
M M M
E
ir, -
_r
^
" « -T
w" 0' <X
vC
0' m'
ro 00 <N
3
t^
1- ro ■-
CO "
M M (N
g
^
i
i) 3 3
fU < <
^' ^"
(U
Q fe fc
rt a. t3 05 oj 5
§ <J § § ^ A
>^ >. bij
3 3^
" -
_
j_
W N
(N « »-
^
00
OOP)
000-
ov c^
0^ 0^ 0^ 0^ 0^ ^>
000
00 oc
00
oc
00 00
00 00 oc
OC
00 00
0-. o- 0^
•o
"" -
•-
-
-. «
" >" "
I-. —
M l-< M
•0
3
-' -t c
c
0' -"
•^ S
LO 00 N
00'
f*^
"
ro ro
H- cs ro ^
Oi CI
M CJ
c
^
o
. c
, c
• X
fa'C c
>.>.>>
^ ^ bi)
S di 3
11— >
c
5 IS
— ,fc
Co CL, OJ 03 CTl C3
§ < Q § S S
■(->
3
C
T3
■ji
c.
^
Cj
'^
_C
^
t-i
<
c
C
^
m
^
"d
>
■ •—
be
rt
a
X
rt
cd
P-
a
CJ
PQ
C
X
1
C
CJ
'S
S
c
J
3
'S
■c
s
'5
rt ol
^
>
1-
rt
b.
e
CI
)
a.
"5
bjo
1/:
a!
V;
>
G
t-
2 I
a!
>
V-
1 — i
be
■3 i:; '^ ^
S § ^
T
C
oi
ffi Q
(73
y;
Z ffi C
<
fe CL,
C) i!:^ fL,
CO
>. >>
>^ >.i^
C
c c
C
c
C C
c c c
c
■11
000
wl
c
c
00c
c
:?.i t
7! '71
'n
(/■
fi V.
t/5 </: r
!A
C
■5
■fc 't
E
H
■£ ■£
'C 'C "C
U U V.
i5 i5
'^Ui 'S
"O
nj <-
^
rt
;^ rt
rt 03 rt
r'
_o
<
i
3-
i
H^
I
K
ffi
K
K
Vr.
S
s
s
rt
Reciprocity in the American Tariff System 59
Our Experience with Reciprocity with Caiiada.
The Marcy-Elgin treaty of 1854, which regulated our recip-
rocal commercial relations with the British North American prov-
inces now composing the Dominion of Canada, besides the inde-
pendent colony of Newfoundland, is noteworthy as being the first
instance of the successful adoption by the United States of the
reciprocity principle in treaty form. It established limited free
trade in natural products between the two countries, the conven-
tional list (identical on both sides) including 28 articles or classes of
articles, the produce of the farm, forest, mine, and fisheries. It
also provided for liberal fishing privileges for American fishermen
and mutual transportation rights.
This treaty was in actual operation, as respects its customs
features, during a period of exactly eleven years. It was termi-
nated March 17, 1866, having been denounced by the United States
one year previously in compliance with an act of Congress. The
value of the reciprocal arrangement to this country has long been
the subject of much discussion and radical difference of opinion. At
the outset it was certainly beneficial to both contracting parties,
but as time progressed the preponderance of commercial advantage
was heavily in favor of Canada. There are several important
reasons for this result. In the first place, the outbreak of the great
Civil War created a most serious disturbance in the activities of
our foreign trade, exports being speedily curtailed and the home
consumption increased. Another disturbing factor was the unex-
pected action of the Canadian provinces in studiously and repeatedly
increasing their import duties on manufactured goods, which
commodities were, in strictness, outside the operation of the
treaty, although perhaps within the spirit of its preamble and the
intention of the negotiators. As a result, American exports to
Canada in those lines steadily fell off; this situation was regarded
at the time as wholly unwarranted and inequital:»le on the part of
the Canadians, who were profiting so extensively by the treaty
itself, and, in mv opinion, it contributed not a little to the
adverse attitude taken by Congress on the question of either
renewing or modifying the treaty. But, of course, the circum-
stance, or rather series of circumstances, that particularly fired
the popular indignation and opposition in this country was the
6o The Ainials of the Aiiicrican Academy
sympathy and assistance extended in Canada to Confederate
refugees in their liostile movements along the border during the war.
The abrogation of the treaty is usually ascribed to the just anger
of our people on that account, and, in a lesser degree, to the unsatis-
factory economic operation of the treaty. Still another sensible
reason for the abandonment of the treaty — and one that has been
almost entirely lost sight of by writers on this subject- — was that
the Goyernment of the United States, at the close of the Civil
War, was obliged to retrench expenditures and husband its reve-
nues in every possible quarter; the special free list so long extended
to Canada offered a resource for sorely needed revenue, and the
opportunity was improved by Congress ; the conventional notice of
one year was given to the other high contracting party, and the
treaty came to an end as stated.
So many factors enter into the matter that it is difiQcult, if
not impossible, to satisfactorily demonstrate the influence of the
treaty of 1854 by means of statistics. Without it, the trade
would undoubtedly have increased to some extent, owing to the
increase of population and industrial development, especially in
the United States, besides the establishment of improved facilities
of transportation. At any rate, in the earlier years of the recip-
rocal period there was a larger percentage of increase in the com-
mercial movement between the two countries than at any time since
1820. The total exports of merchandise from this country to the
North American provinces, in the fiscal year 1852—53, amounted
in value to $12,400,000, while our corresponding imports from
that source were only $6,500,000. The very next year the United
States exports jumped to $24,000,000 and the imports to $8,800,000.
In 1855 the figures were, exports $27,700,000 and imports $15,000.-
000; in 1856, exports $29,000,000 and imports $21,000,000. The
last mentioned year witnessed the high-water mark of our exports
to Canada under the treaty, while our imports from there rose in
1866, the last year of the reciprocal period, to the unprecedented
figure of more than $48,000,000. During the first half of the treaty
period, therefore, the balance of trade was in favor of the United
States, but in the closing years it had shifted in favor of Canada.
Earnest efforts, repeatedly renewed, have been made by the
Canadians since 1866 to re-establish reciprocal relations between
the two countries, but without avail. More than once the Liberal
Reciprocity in the American Tartfj System 6i
party of Canada has gone to the polls with the pledge to accom-
plish this much-coveted result.
The unsuccessful efforts of the Anglo-American Joint High
Commission of 1898-99 to reach an agreement upon the subject
of commercial reciprocity, as well as upon any of the numer-
ous other questions of difference submitted to its consideration,
are fresh in mind. Many persons believe that a special arrange-
ment satisfactory to both countries might have been made by
that distinguished body, six plenipotentiaries on either side,
had it not been for the determined position taken by the Canadian
members, who insisted upon reaching an agreement upon all the
twelve topics, including the Alaskan boundary dispute, before
definitely disposing of any particular subject.
The happy removal of the question of the Alaskan boundary
from the list of existing commercial differences would, therefore,
seem to have eliminated a serious obstacle to a new reciprocity
treaty. The outlook for Canadian reciprocity is therefore hopeful.
Reciprocity ivith Hawaii.
Our reciprocity treaty of 1875 with the Hawaiian Islands,
signed by Secretary Fish, occupies an exceptional place in the
history of the policy, inasmuch as its conclusion was dictated,
on the part of the United States, by serious considerations of
state rather than by purely economic motives. The superior
rights and interests of this country in the islands had long fore-
shadowed ultimate annexation, and the treaty not only furnished
an additional safeguard to Hawaii against possible aggressions
by foreign powers, but it also gave to her principal product, raw
sugar, an exclusive and effective commercial advantage in the
vast market of the United States.
The treaty of 1875 virtually established free trade between
the United States and Hawaii, the raw sugar and other natural
products of the islands being granted free entry into the United
States in return for like treatment by Hawaii of a long list of
miscellaneous American products, practically comprehending the
entire trade as it then existed. Hawaii also agreed not to lease
or otherwise dispose of any port, harbor, or territory, or grant
to any other nation the same privileges secured in the treaty to
the United States.
62 TIic Ainials of the American Academy
This treaty was renewed in 1SS4 by a supplementary treaty,
signed by Secretary Frelinghuysen, wherein Hawaii granted to
the United States the exclusive right to establish a coaling station
in Pearl Harbor, a valuable strategic advantage to this country.
Besides the paramount considerations of national statecraft, — the
security of the extensive American interests in the islands, the
guaranty afforded against foreign encroachments, and the strategic
value of a coaling station for the navy in its operations in the
Pacific, — the treaty, in the end, was economically beneficial to
the United States, for the preferential free admission of the crude
sugar of Hawaii led to the establishment of the refining industry
in California and built uj) the prosperity of the islands in which
the entire United States now has equal interest. It is a note-
worthv fact that for several years prior to annexation the United
States took about 92 per cent of the entire exports of the Hawaiian
Islands and in return furnished about 78 per cent of their total
imports.
The Reciprocity Treaty ivith Cuba.
The recent adoption l)v the United States of the reciprocity
treaty with the Cuban republic, signed at Havana on December 11,
I go 2. opens up an encouraging outlook for our export trade in mis-
cellaneous manufactured commodities and food products.
The estimated remission in our revenues hitherto derived
from Cuban sugar is considerable, but this objection is properly
overborne not only by the dictates of the national sense of duty
to Cuba, which under the Spanish regime (bad as it was), enjoyed
a profitable and preferential market in the inother country, which
is now largely lost, but also by the prospective value of the liberal
preferential tariff concessions made by the young republic to
our diversified export interests.
By the treaty just put into effect the United States grants
a reduction of 20 per cent of the regular tariff duties upon all
dutiable imports from Cuba. Reciprocally, that country agrees to
admit at reductions of 23, 30, and 40 per cent of the regular duties,
respectively, the articles of United States production enumerated
in three schedules, while all remaining dutiable articles are to be
admitted at a reduction of 20 per cent. The existing free lists of
Reciprocity in the Amcricai} Tarijj System 63
the two countries are mutually bound during the term of the treatv.
which is five years.
A most important fact for the development of American trade
interests in the island is that the duty reductions of 20 to 40 per
cent stipu ated by Cuba must remain "preferential iti respect to all
like imports from other countries" during the treaty period. vSuch
important tariff advantages, which are to be exclusivelv enjoved
by American exporters, should surely enable our trade in the
island to expand enormously, and, while we now supplv Cuba with
less than half of what she buys abroad, we should soon, thanks to
the treaty, virtually control the entire market.
In the calendar year 1902 Cuba imported goods to the value
of 60 million dollars, of which the United States furnished 25
millions, or only 42 per cent — a poor showing, considering geo-
graphical advantages. The treaty should enable us to double this
percentage. On the other hand, in the same year Cuba exported to
the world goods to the value of 64 million dollars, of which 9
millions, or 77 per cent, was taken by the United States. The
remission by this country of one-fifth of the Dingley duties on
Cuban sugar and tobacco will materially benefit the producers 00
the island of those articles, but this is precisely what we should
desire. If Cuba flourishes as never before, her prosperity will
react in our favor inasmuch as she will need more goods from
abroad, and will be able to buy more, and our preferential tariff
treatment in her market will give us the control. For these
reasons it is evident that our new Cuban treaty is a well-balanced
contract from a purely economic viewpoint, justly redounding
to . the credit of the present administration and fulfilling the
earnest hopes of the late President McKinley in respect to our
commercial treatment of Cuba.
Reciprocity Under Section 3, Tariff of 1S90.
All the commercial agreements made under the Harrison
administration were negotiated and put into eflfect by Presidential
proclamation under the provisions of Section 3 of the Tariff Act of
1890. That section, incorporated in the law following the sugges-
tions of Secretary Blaine, was very simple. With the view of secur-
ing beneficial reciprocal relations with countries producing and
exporting to the United States raw sugar, molasses, cofTee, tea, and
64 The Ainials of the American Academy
hides, — all which articles had been placed on the free list of the tariff
— the President was authorized to suspend their free entry whenever
such countries imposed unreasonable duties upon American prod-
ucts, and thereupon certain duties specified in this section shoukl
be collected upon the enumerated articles. It was reciprocity by
indirection, being a declaration to the countries concerned that
the United States would expect fair and reciprocal tariff treatment
for its products in their markets, and the legislative threat of
retaliation was the effective leverage.
The commercial agreements concluded under the tariff of
1890 were skilfully negotiated, on the part of the United States,
by Secretary Blaine, with the able assistance of Mr. John W.
Foster. In return for the simple guaranty of the retention upon
our free list of sugar and the other enumerated articles, important
tariff advantages were secured in behalf of American trade in the
contracting countries. For example, Bra5^il agreed to admit free
of duty a list of important products, including wheat, flour, pork,
fish, coal, agricultural and mining machinery, and railway material,
and conceded a reduction of 25 per cent in her duties upon another
list of articles, including lard, butter, cheese, canned meats, lumber,
and cotton goods. The concessions made by the other countries of
Latin America were equally liberal; for instance, Cuba granted
free entry to 39 classes of articles, a duty-reduction of 50 per cent
on 17 classes, and of 25 per cent on 14 classes.
Germany abolished the prohibition of hogs, pork and sausages,
an obnoxious measure which had been enforced against American
products since the year 1883, notwithstanding the strenuous and
persistent efforts of our Legation for its modification or repeal.
Germany further conceded to the United States the full benefits
of her conventional tariff upon agricultural products as set forth
in a series of reciprocity treaties with her neighbors. These valua-
ble commercial concessions were contained in the famous ' ' Saratoga
Convention," which, like all the other arrangements under the Act
of 1890, was effected by the exchange of diplomatic notes, in this
case at Saratoga, N. Y.
Austria- Hungary also guaranteed to the United States her best
tariff treatment of imports. A complete repertory of the articles
grown or manufactured in the United States that received the
benefit of this arrangement embraced nearly 2,000 separate items.
Reciprocity in the American Tariff System 65
These commercial arrangements were abrogated by the pro-
visions of the Wilson tariff of August 27, 1894, in spite of a saving
clause in Section 71, for the reason that sugar — the principal basis
of all the agreements — was then made dutiable indiscriminately
from the whole world. They were therefore in operation, for the
most part, only about three years, 1891-94; the majority scarcely
tvvo years. It is not reasonable to demand brilliant results in such
a short period, even under favorable general conditions; but,
as a matter of fact, the years 1893-94 were notoriously bad for the
development of our foreign trade ; the country was staggering under
a most serious industrial depression, the causes of which were inde-
pendent of anything connected with the reciprocity movement.
Nevertheless, the opponents of the reciprocity policy are fond of
pointing out the fact that during the reciprocal period our total
exports of merchandise to some — not all, by any means — of the
countries of Latin America with which we had entered into arrange-
ments showed little, if any, increase; hence they argue that the
reciprocity movement was a failure. Ignoring the influences
msntioned, they, of course, ignore the fact that it was largely
due to these same reciprocity arrangements that our exporters
were able to hold their own and make a good showing, notwith-
standing the adverse conditions prevailing at home.
But on the whole the official statistics give evidence of the
beneficial effects of reciprocity. For instance, take the total
United States exports to the whole of Latin America:
In 1 89 1, before the reciprocal period, they were $90,000,000
" .1893, during " " " " rose to 103.000,000
" 1895, after " " " " fell to 88,000,000
Or, take the experience with Cuba :
In 189 1, our exports of merchandise amounted to $12,200,000
" 1893, " " " " rose to 24,150,000
" 1895, " " " " fell to 12,800,000
The milling industry of the United States, of paramount
importance in our national industrial economy, was benefited
immensely, particularly in the markets of Cuba, Brazil, and
Germany.
66 Tlw Atnials of the American Academy
In 1891, total U. S. exports of flour were 11,300,000 bbls.
" 1892, " " " " " " 15,200,000
" 1893, " " " " " " 16,600,000 "
" 1894, " " " " " " 16,800,000 "
" 1895, " " " " " " 15,200,000
It was oflicially stated that during the reciprocal period,
Spanish flour was almost completely driven out of the Cuban
market, and everywhere the American gains in trade represented
a corresponding displacement of European products. When we
consider that all this happened in the midst of an era of industrial
stagnation, trade discouragement and uncertainty, it is wonderful
that^he results were so favorable.
Brilliant as was the conception of this our first legislative
expression looking to the general application of the policy of
reciprocity, and beneficial and satisfactory as were the results
attained on behalf of our foreign commerce during the brief life
of the several arrangements concluded thereunder, the scheme,
from an academic point of view at least, is open to one criticism, —
instead of retaliation being made the impelling force, the hope of
preferential treatment (not, however, excluding to all others the
right of identity of treatment) should have been held out as the
inducement to candidates for reciprocity. In other words, the
articles sugar, molasses, coffee, tea, and hides, should have been
made dutiable, and the President authorized, in the reciprocity
section, to admit them free by proclamation, when imported
from those countries which extended fair and reciprocal tariff
treatment to American goods. Indeed, this was the original idea
of Secretary Blaine, as expressed in his letters to the framers of
the McKinley tariff and, by implication, embodied tentatively
in an amendment to the then pending bill, drawn by himself and
introduced in the Senate by Senator Hale on June 19, 1890. If
Section 3 of that tariff had been dra,wn upon the lines referred to,
it is probable that the results would have been even more beneficial,
although, as I have stated, there is no room for reasonable criticism
on this score. At any rate, it is probable that the responses on the
part of foreign countries desiring reciprocal relations would have
been more numerous. Furthermore, it would have avoided the
diplomatic misunderstanding and friction, a well as partial dis-
Reciprocity in the American Tariff System b-j
placement 6f our established trade, entailed by the legal punish-
ment of Haiti, Venezuela, and Colombia, upon whose raw sugar,
etc., President Harrison was obliged to impose the contemplated
duties, by proclamation, on March 15, 1892.
The Reciprocity Features oj the Dingley Tariff.
The Tariff Act of July 24, 1897, carried the idea of reciprocity
to a higher point of development than the tariff of 1890, for it
combined the principle of the reciprocity section of the latter law
with entirely novel features, contained in Sections 3 and 4. The
provisions of Section 4, in which there was a time-limit of two
years expressed, have proved abortive: but those of Section 3,
with no time-limit, have yielded excellent results and v/arrant
careful consideration.
The plan for the attainment of commercial reciprocity estab-
lished by the Act of 1897, is the exact antithesis of that of the
tariff of 1890. In the present tariff' certain dutiable articles of
merchandise are selected, and the President is authorized to
reduce, by proclamation, the regular duties thereon to definite
concessional duties, when imported from countries which grant to
the United States reciprocal and equivalent concessions. This
scheme contains no suggestion of retaliation, and yet affords
strong inducements to countries producing and exporting the
enumerated articles to enter into the contemplated reciprocal rela-
tions with this country, for the extent of the concessional reduc-
tions of duty is material, as will appear in the following table:
68
TJic Annals of the American Academy
Table Showing Tariff Concessions Offered by Section j, Taiiff of
iSgj.
Percentage
Enumerated Articles.
General Rate.
Concessional Rate.
of
Reduction.
Argols. or crude tartar or wine
Ipes, crude
I to 1 ^ cent per pound.
5 percent ad valorem...
Average 70
Brandies, or other spirits manu-
factured or distilled from grain
or (ither materials
S2.25 per proof gallon.
$i.7S per proof gallon.
22 2-IO
Champajrne and all other spark-
ling wines, in bottles, contain-
ing each not more than i
quart and more than i pint . . .
Each not more than i pint
$8 per doiien
$6 per dozen
2S
and more than \ pint
Each i pint or less
In bottles or other vessels
$4 per dozen
$3 per dozen
25
$2 per dozen
$1.50 per dozen
25
containing more than i
quart each
S8 per dozen, plus
$2.50 per gallon on
S6 per dozen
25
plus Si. 00 per gallon
1
quantities in excess
on quantities in ex-
2,
of I (juart.
cess of I quart.
J
Still Wines, and Vermuth:
In casks
40 and 50 cents per
35 cents per gallon . . .
1 12^
gallon.
I 30
In bottles or jugs, case of i
dozen bottles or jugs, con-
taining each not more than
I quart and more than i
pint, or 24 bottles or jugs
containing each not more
than 1 pint
$1.60 per case
$1.25 per case
21}
Any excess beyond these
quantities found in such
bottles or jugs
5 cents per pint or
4 cents per pint or
.fractional part
fractional part
thereof.
thereof
20
Paintings in oil or water colors.
pastels. pen-and-ink drawings.
and statuary
20 per cent ad valo-
IS per cent ad valo-
rem.
rem
25
Reciprocity in the American Tariff System
69
Provisions of the Commercial Agreements under Section j, Tariff of
1897-'
Country. Concessions by U. S.!
Concessions to U. S.
Terminable.
France ....
(Operative
from June
I. 1898.)
Germany .
(Operative
from July
13, 1900.)
Italy
(Operative
from July
18, 1900.)
All the authorized Minimum tariff on canned meats, fresh table No term speci-
concessions, except- fruits, dried or pressed fruits (excluding fied.
ing on champagnes raisins), logs, timber and lumber, paving
and other sparkling' blocks, staves, hops, apples and pears
crushed or cut and dried, manufactured
and prepared pork meats, lard and its com-
pounds.
Do.
Three months'
notice.
Do.
Portugal .. .
(Operative
from June
12, 1900.)
Same concessions as'
granted to above
countries (except-
ing on vermuth)
and, in addition,
contemplated lower
rates on sparkling
wines (of which
practically no im-
ports from Portu-
gal into United
States).
Full conventional tariff, as granted to Bel-
gium, Italy. Austria-Hungary, Roumania,
Russia, Switzerland, and Servia, by reci-
procity treaties of 1891-94 (the Caprivian
treaties).
Also, annulment of regulations for inspec-
tion of American dried and evaporated
fruits, on account of San Jose scale.
Specified low rates(partlv actual reductions) One year's no-
on cottonseed oil, pickled or preserved fish, tice (originally
agricultural machinery and parts, scientific end of year
instruments, dynamo-electrical machines: 1903).
and parts, sewing machines, and varnishes.
Free entry of turpentine oil, natural fertil-
izers, crude, fresh or dned skins, and fur
skins.
Most-favored-nation treatment (Spain andjune 12, 190s:
Brazil excepted) of flour 01 cereals (except' then one year's
wheat), maize and wheat in the grain, lard] notice.
and grease mineral oils and certain prod-!
ucts, reaping, mowing and threshing ma-j
chines, machines for compressing hay and|
straw steam plows and parts, plowshares;)
instruments, implements and tools for the
arts, manufactories, agriculture, and gar-
dening.
Specified minimum rates on most of above,
including oils, and upon tar and mineral
pitch.
signed at
Hav and Ambassador
The German Agreement.
The existing reciprocal agreement with Germany
Washington in July, 1900, by Secretary
• Switzerland is often included in the list of countries with which agreements under the
Act of 1897 have been concluded. This is not exactly correct. By invoking a peculiarly
worded most -favored-nation clause in her commercial treaty of iS^o with the United States.
Switzerland obtained the benefit of the concessions granted to France for one year prior to
March 23, 1900, when the clause in question was terminated at the instance of the United States.
70
The Annals of the American Academy
von Holleben. for their respective governments, affords a striking
illustration of the success attainable with small assets skilfully-
used bv the American negotiator. In return for the identical
concessional reductions which had been granted to France by the
agreement of 1898, upon the few rather unimportant articles
enumerated in Section 3, excluding sparkling wines, Germany
formallv conceded to all imports from the United States the full
and unqualified benefit of her entire conventional tariff created
bv the series of reciprocity treaties concluded with her European
neighbors during the chancellorship of Count von Capri vi. This
assurance of continued equality of tariff treatment for cur exports
in that market, this guaranty against discrimination in any line of
our export trade, so long as the agreement remains in force, is
surely a concession of great value. Without the slightest disturb-
ance of our established tariff economy, without injury to a single
American industry, without eliciting a single murmur of complaint
in this country, and at the expense of a comparatively slight
sacrifice in national revenue. Secretary Hay secured for his country
the best tariff conditions which Germany offers to imports from
any country in the. world. In fact, the United States could not
improve its present position by the conclusion of an extensive
regular treaty of reciprocity, excepting the conditions of denun-
ciation, which it would be to our interest to have fixed, if possi-
ble, at a much longer period than upon a notice of three months.
In a political way, too, the happy conclusion of this agreement
removed certain causes of irritation previously existing between
the two governments, silenced threats of retaliatory action against
the United States, and altogether promoted better international
relations. It is therefore earnestly to be hoped that the same
satisfactory commercial basis will be maintained in favor of our ex-
ports to Germany after the new reciprocity treaties, now in process
of negotiation by that country, shall have replaced the treaties
of 1891-94, referred to in the German-American agreement.
Commercial Effects of tlie Agreements.
Evidence is not lacking to prove that the reciprocity agree-
ments under the existing tariff act have had a beneficial effect
upon our export trade with the interested countries. This does
not appear so plainly in the statistics of our total exports to those
Reciprocity in the American Tariff System
countries, as in the growth of the exports of concessional articles.
Take, for example, the case of France, where our agreement went
into operation on June i, 1898. Within the l)rief period of two
years thereafter United States exports to France of the concessional
articles (fruits, certain meats, lard, timber, etc.) increased more
than 74 per cent in value, while our imports of goods from France
affected by the agreement (argols. still wines, spirits, and works
of art) showed an increase of only 5 per cent in value. Our total
exports to the conventional countries have also shown a gratifving
increase, due in part to these agreements.
Total Exports from United States to Contracting Countries.
Fis<al year
endi.g Jun ■,
France. Germany.
Italy. Portugal.
i8qo ......
IQOO
1901
$60 600,000
83,300,000
78,700,000
$155,800,000
187,300,000
191,800,000
$25,000,000 1 $4,100,000
33,300,000 ' 5,900.000
34,500,000 1 5,300,000
So far as statutory provisions looking to reciprocity are con-
cerned, this part of Section 3 of the Dingley tariff presents an ideal
method, capable of indefinite extension at the will of Congress and
in perfect harmony with our present tariff system. By reason
of the limited number of articles enumerated and their character,
reciprocity under this section has been necessarily limited to a few
countries, but the results already accomplished have been so favor
able as to strongly commend the plan itself to the statesmen of
the United States, and especially to the loyal advocates of the asso-
ciated policies of protection and reciprocity.
Notwithstanding all that has been said in the last few years
in opposition to any reciprocity involving our tariff duties on
competitive imports, it will be observed that all the articles of
m3rchandise enumerated in Section 3 are of this character, entering
into competition with domestic products, and that the authorized
reduction of the regular duties thereon is considerable, being as
high as 70 per cent in the case of argols, 25 per cent for sparkling
wines and works of art. 22 per cent for spirits and for still wines
in bottles, and 30 per cent for the higher grade of still wines in
casks. Nevertheless, the American producers of the articles in
question have made no complaint whatever on this subject, and
the commercial results have shown that the\ have not been injured
72
The Atiuals of the Avicricau Academy
by the agreements already put into operation. For instance, the
official statistics of imports from France for the first two years
following the proclamation of the agreement of May 28, 1898,
show no increase of imports of French brandy and still wines,
as might have been feared.
Section 3 of the present tariff contains, in its latter portion,
provisions for penalizing imports of coffee, tea, and tonqua and
vanilla beans — all upon the free list of the Act of 1897 — when
imported from countries which impose reciprocally unequal and
unreasonable duties upon exports of the United States. In such
emergencies the President is authorized to suspend, by procla-
mation, the free entry of these articles from the offending countries,
whereupon certain specified duties shall be collected thereon.
Fortunately, the conditions have not, up to the present time,
justified and required the infliction of this penalty. Tea was
made, and remains, dutiable by the revenue law of 1898, while
the imports of tonqua and vanilla beans are not very important;
this feature of Section 3, therefore, mainly concerns the great
cofifee-producing country of South America, and this suggests the
general kindly policy of our government toward all the countries
of Latin America.
The Executive should be armed by the legislature with the
strongest possible weapons for effective action against any country
that willfully and persistently discriminates against American
trade, and it must be conceded that the available measures in this
direction might wisely be enlarged and strengthened; but, at the
same time, as President McKinley declared in his farewell to the
people, measures of retaliation are not in harmony with the Sfjirit
of the times, nor, it may be added, in harmony with the policy
and attitude of the present administration.
Treaties tvhich Hare Faih'd of Adoption.
A list of the reciprocity treaties which have been signed and
submitted to the Senate of the United States and have failed of final
adoption is given below. The recently concluded treaty with Grent
Britain, on behalf of Newfoundland, appears at the end; this, how-
ever, is still pending action. No mention is made of mere projets of
treaties, upon which the general injunction of secrecy covering
diplomatic transactions rests; but reference should be made to the
Reciprocity in the American Tariff System
Brown-Thornton draft-treaty of 1874 for reciprocity with Canada,
which, ahliough unsigned, was passed upon by the Senate and
rejected; also to the Blaine-Bond projet of 1890 for reciprocity
with Newfoundland, which, although not signed, was submitted
by the British ^Minister at Washington to his government, which
withheld its consent to its conclusion, because of Canadian oppo-
sition. Mention should also be made of two treaties with Great
Britain on behalf of Trinidad, which were negotiated and signed
by Mr. Kasson under the fourth section of the present tariff,
neither of which was transmitted to the Senate. The first, signed
on July 22, 1899, failed to receive the required adherence of the
colonial legislature; while the second, signed on February 13, 1900,
lapsed after a brief period. Besides the unperfected treaties
mentioned below, there were two commercial agreements nego-
tiated in 1 89 2 under the tariff of 1890, which were not proclaimed
by the President ; one was with Costa Rica, which was not ratified
by the legislative body of that country, and the other was with
France, which, however, was virtually made effective from January
30, 1893, by a French law which gave to the United States the
minimum rates upon a few articles of import.
Unperfected Reciprocity Treaties of the United States.
Adminis-
tration.
Tyler .
Pierce
Buchanan .
Johnson . .
Arthxir
Country.
Germanic States of the
Zollverein.
(Wheaton Treaty.)
Ha waiian Islands
(Marcy-Lee Treaty.)
Mexico
(McLane-O'Campo
Treaty.)
Hawaiian Islands
(McCook-Harris Treaty)
Mexico
(Grant and Trescott-
Romero and Canedo
Treaty.)
Signed.
March 25, 1844 . . .
July 20, 1855
December 14, 1859
Disposition.
May 21, 1867 . . .
January 20, 1883
Twice adversely reported. Ta-
bled in Senate by vote of 26 to
18, in 1844-45.
[ No action — pressure of other
questions.
i Rejected by Senate, vote of 18
to 27, May i\, 1S60.
Rejected by Senate, June i,
1870.
Ratified by Senate and pro-
claimed by President, June 2,
1884, but never effective, for
want of stipulated confirma-
tory legislation by Congres.s.
Twice extended by supplement-
ary conventions of February
25. 1885, and May 14, 1886.
Finally lapsed on May 20, 1887.
74
The Aiiimls of the Ajiicrican Academy
Adminis-
tration.
Country.
Signed.
Disposition.
Arthur . . . .
Spain for Cuba and Porto
Rico.
(Foster Treaty.)
November iS. 18.S4 .
Withdrawn from Senate (before
action) by President Cleveland
in special message of March 13
1885. Never resubmitted.
Arthur . . . .
Dominican Republic
(Frelinfihuysen Treaty.)
December 4, 1884 . .
Also withdrawn at same time as
foregoing.
July 24, 1899
(Kasson-Cambon
Treaty.)
McKinley . .
Argentine Republic
(Buchanan-Alcorta
Treaty.)
July 10, iSgg
Lapsed November 6. 1902.
McKinley . .
Great Britain on behalf of
Barbados
(Kasson-Tower Treaty.)
June 16. 1899
Lapsed April 26, 1903.
McKinley . .
British Guiana
(Kasson-Tower Treaty.)
July 18, 1899
Lapsed March 12, 1903.
McKinley ..
Turks and Caicos Islands
(Kasson-Tower Treaty.)
July 21, 1S99
Lapsed March 12, 1903.
McKinley . .
Jamaica
(Kasson-Tower Treaty.)
July 22, tSqo
Lapsed March 12, 1903.
McKinley . .
July 24, 1899
Lapsed March 16, 1902.
(Kasson-Tower Treaty.)
McKinley . .
October 20, 1899 .. .
(Kasson-Sanson Treaty.)
McKinley . .
Denmark on behalf of
St. Croix
June 5, t90o
Lapsed November 9, 1903.
(Kasson-Brun Treaty.)
McKinley .
Dominican Republic
(Hay-Vasnuez Treaty.)
June 25. 1900
Withdrawn by Dominican Gov
ernment in August, 1902.
McKinlev . .
Ecuador
July 10. 1900
* * *
Lapsed July 10, 1901.
( Sampson - Peral ta
Treaty.)
* * * *
*****
Roosevelt ..
Great Britain on behalf of
Novembers, 1902 ..
(Hay-Herbert Treaty.)
This list of formally concluded treaties of reciprocity which,
since the administration of President Tyler, have failed of final
Reciprocity in the American Tarifj System 75
adoption by our government (excepting, of course, the pending
treaty for Newfoundland) shows, when compared with the pre-
viDus list of perfected treaties, that reciprocity by this method has
failed far oftener than it has triumphed; while, on the other hand,
legislative reciprocity by Presidential proclamation has almost
ia/ariably succeeded. Perhaps this deduction may properly be
regarded as a lesson for the future; but it must not be taken as a
condemnation of the provisions of the treaties in the foregoing
list, for something might justly be said in praise of each one of
them.
The Kasson Treaties.
All the treaties concluded during the McKinley administra-
tion, eleven in number (besides the Trinidad convention), are
commonly called the Kasson treaties, having been negotiated by
the Reciprocity Commission, of which Mr. John A. Kasson was
the head, appointed by President McKinley in October, 1897, to
carry out the reciprocity features of the tariff of 1897. These
treaties were framed in accordance with the provisions of Section 4
of that law, which authorized the President to negotiate reci-
procity treaties providing for concessions to the contracting
foreign countries, during a period not to exceed five years, upon
the following bases, in exchange for equivalent advantages
granted to the export trade of the United States:
(i) Reduction of the present duty upon any article imported
from any country, to the extent of not more than 20 per cent.
(2) Transfer from the dutiable to the free list of any article
which is a natural product of a foreign country, and, at the same
time, not a natural product of this country.
(3) Guaranty of retention on the free list of any article now
free.
According to a literal interpretation of Section 4, the American
negotiator had. as his available assets in reciprocity, a margin of
one-fifth the duties upon any articles enumerated in the dutiable
schedules of the Dingley tariff, and, as the theater of his operations,
the whole commercial world. The one valuable lesson which we
can draw from the lengthy mortality list in the above table, is that
the statutory recommendations, — or mandatory directions, if you
^6 The Auiials of the American Academy
please, — for reciprocity contained in that section were entirely
too general and indefinite.
Mr. Kasson, the American negotiator of the lapsed treaties,
has been a life-long Republican and consistent protectionist; he
sincerely believed that none of the treaties under Section 4 con-
tained a single provision in violation of the cardinal principles of
our protective tarifT system, and that no proposed concession on the
part of the United States threatened the prosperity of any American
industry by impairing the security afforded it by the rates of the
Dingley tariff. The proposed reduction in duties in no case
exceeded 20 per cent, the amount specifically authorized in Section
4, but, in most cases, it was far below that limit, the average reduc-
tion in the French treaty being less than 7 per cent, applied to only
126 numbers of our tarilT.
These treaties have lapsed, and their details need not be
given here. I have discussed them at length in other publications
at a time when it was believed that at least some of them would
be ultimately adopted." They contained many meritorious
features for the promotion and wider development oi our foreign
commerce, and they presented no real danger to the continued
prosperity of any of our home industries. Very important inter-
ests, however — notably the manufacturers of cotton-knit goods
in the case of the French treaty, the fruit-growers of California in
the case of the Jamaican treaty, and the v.^ool-growers of the
Middle West in the case of the Argentine treaty — believed that
the stipulated tariff reductions would seriously injure their respec-
tive industries by flooding the American market with the foreign
products, and thus causing disastrous competition. These oppo-
nents have presented their protests so forcibly that the treaties in
question no longer remain in the theater of practical action, but
are merely food for the historian, the theorist, and the moralist.
The Three Reciprocity Movements.
There have been three well-defined and organized movements
for reciprocity as a proper means of extending our foreign trade.
The first of these took place in the administration of President
2 "The Development of the Policy of Reciprocity," Forum for August, 1898; "The Work
of the Reciprocity Commission." Forum for December, 1000: "Expansion through Recipro-
city." Atlantic Monthly, December, 1901; "Reciprocity and Our Pending Treaties," Collier's
Weekly, January 11. 1902.
Reciprocity in the American Tarifj System 77
Arthur, when a trade commission was despatched to the several
countries of Central and South America with a view of bringing
about more satisfactory commercial relations; and when the reci-
procity treaties with Mexico, with Spain for Cuba and Porto Rico,
and with the Dominican Republic were negotiated. This move-
ment failed entirely, mainly because of a change of the party in
power. The supplementary treaty of 1884 with Hawaii, which
was perfected three years later in the Cleveland administration,
might, however, be regarded as an exception.
The next movement began in i88g, under the administra-
tion of President Harrison, when the International American
Conference assembled at Washington and recommended a series
of Pan-American reciprocity treaties. The sequel was the amend-
ment of the McKinley tariff of 1890, by the introduction of the
reciprocity section, from which came the numerous Blaine arrange-
ments, which were virtually terminated by the Wilson tariff of
1894.
The third and last movement was inaugurated in 1897 by the
passage of the Dingley law^ with its triple reciprocity features:
(r) reciprocity by treaty, with general limitations; (2) reci])rocity
by proclamation of authorized reductions, and (3) reciprocity
based upon forbearance from the imposition of certain penal
duties. The Kasson treaties and the existing agreements are
the results of this movement, to which belong also the Cuban and
the Newfoundland treaties, for these, although negotiated under
the unhampered constitutional power of the Executive, carry out
the true policy of reciprocity. The administrations of Presidents
Arthur, Harrison, McKinley, and Roosevelt have therefore wit-
nessed the highest development of this policy of fostering the
export activities of the United States. There have been fatalities
all along the line, but the actual concrete results show that the
national efforts so far made during the third and existing reciprocity
movement have not been in vain.
Tlie Proper Fnnctioiis of Reciprocity.
The highest object of reciprocity is to improve the tariff and
kindred conditions under which the products of the United States
are admitted into the ports of foreign countries; to remove exist-
ing, and prevent threatened, discriminating treatment and unrea-
78 The Annals of the American Academy
sonable and reciprocally unequal duties. By the attainment of
these objects our export trade will be greatly facilitated and
promoted, and our producers will find increased profits, as well
as enlarged markets. The true mission of reciprocity, then, is
to do for the American exporter what protection has already
accomplished for the wage-earner and his employer, to afford the
measure of security requisite for the constant enlargement of his
activities; and, of course, the welfare of our exi)orters means the
welfare of our producers generally.
The need for reciprocity increases part passu with the con-
stantly increasing demand for new and wider markets, for easier
entrance conditions and, above all, for equality of treatment with
international competitors. The strength of this demand may be
understood bv bearing in mind that many of our largest industries,
at their present rate of production, could entirely supply the home
market by working only eight or nine months per annum, which
means that the balance of the year would be consumed in manu-
facturing for exyjort. In many lines of industry the international
competition in the markets of Europe is extremely keen and sales are
made upon a slight margin of profit. In such cases the applicatic n
of discriminating rates to American products is sufficient to turn
the scale against the successful entry of our surplus goods. Then
it is that the aid of reciprocity may wisely be invoked for the cor-
rection of the discrimination and the establishment of satisfactory
stable conditions. In fact, stability for the future with its reac-
tionary chances is a most important consideration. The time is
approaching when the enormous demands of our home market will
be satisfied and then the welfare of our export trade will become a
matter of grave national solicitude. When that time comes,
reciprocity will be an international issue.
Reciprocity with foreign countries rests pre-eminently upon
the motto Do at Des. We seek what is valuable, and to obtain
it, must make concessions of reasonable value. The proper extent
of these return concessions is the crucial point in the whole ques-
tion, and practically the entire opposition to the ratification of the
Kasson treaties was predicated upon this phase of the problem.
\o one seriously questions the great desirability of securing, in seme
way or another, the benefit of the entire minimum tariff of France
for American exports; or reduced duties and an enlarged free list
Reciprocity in the American Tarij'j .Systan 79
in the British West Indies; or better conditions of trade in Argen-
tina, Nicaragua, Ecuador, etc. There is practical unanimity
among our people on the subject of these desiderata for our export
trade interests; the diversity of opinion, however, relates to the
reasonableness of the concessions proposed by the United States.
These conventional concessions may properly embrace stipu-
lations to the following effect: (i) the reduction of our present
duties on certain articles; (2) a guaranty of continuance, during
the conventional term, of the present rates on certain articles, in
other words, the "binding" of such rates, and (3) the binding of
the present free list, in part or whole, for the benefit of the con-
tracting country.
Concessions under the last two heads excite little or no oppo-
sition; the real contest relates to the lowering of existing duties
(or, of course, to the exemption from duties) on highly competitive
articles. Experience — particularly in the case of the lapsed
French treaty — has shown that a very slight reduction in duty,
say of 5 per cent, arouses no antagonism; but when reductions of
20 per cent, or 15 per cent, or sometimes even 10 per cent, are
proposed, serious objection is raised by the interested home indus-
tries. It is therefore highly desirable to find some reliable crite-
rion for the regulation of the duty-revising effects of reciprocity
with highly civilized countries like France.
The time has passed for seriously questioning the success of
the protective tariff system in the United States; the people have
repeatedly approved it and returned to it after brief and partial
departures, and the material results achieved under it since 1897,
the period of its highest development, have further emphasized
its success as a national policy, its efficacy in stimulating industrial
activity, supplying the needful revenues, and bringing and main-
taining widespread prosperity. The question, therefore, of assign-
ing proper limits to the revisionary tariff effects of the reciprocity
policy is one of paramount importance.
It is true that reciprocity with one country may rest upon
peculiar considerations and call for greater liberality of treatment
than reciprocity with another country; a case in point is Cuba,
where we have the regulation of a neighborhood trade. Never-
theless, it is possible to formulate a satisfactory general rule.
The scientific justification of our protective tariff lies in the fact
8o TJic Ainials of tlic American Academy
that the duties on competitive articles have been made sufficiently
high to counterbalance the disparity existing between the low
wages prevailing in foreign countries and the higher wages paid
in the same industries in the United States. The pursuance of
this legislative method of safeguarding American industries is
demonstrated, in a rough way, by the average duty collected upon
foreign imports. The wages paid in almost any industry in
Europe average at least 50 per cent lower than corresponding
wages in this country, and, very properly, our average duty upon
dutiable imports from Europe is 50 per cent ad valorem. There
are, of course, inequalities here and there, and the industrial con-
ditions are constantly changir^g to some extent, so that in time
several schedules of the present tariff will require revision. With-
out discussing the probable nearness or remoteness of such time,
it is to be hoped that when it arrives, those duties which shall
then be found to he "no longer needed for revenue or to encourage
and protect our industries at home," may be "employed to extend
and promote our markets abroad," to use the words of President
McKinley at Buffalo.
Upon these important phases of reciprocity — its applica-
bility in any future readjustment of the tariff and the rule for its
judicious application — we can profitably follow the excellent
recommendations to Congress contained in the Annual Messages
of President Roosevelt.
The following i)aragraph is from the Message of 1901 :
''Reciprocity must be treated as the handmaiden of ])rotection. Our
first duty is to see that the protection granted by the tariff in every ca- e
where it is needed is maintained, and that reciprocity be sought for so far as
it can safely be done without injury to our home industries. Just how far
this is must be determined according to the individual case, remembering
always that every application of our tariff policy to meet our shifting natioral
needs must be conditioned upon the cardinal fact that the duties must never
be reduced below the point that will cover the difference between the labor cost
here and abroad. The well-being of the wage-worker is a prime considera-
tion of our entire policy of economic legislation."
The rule to which I have called attention in the extract from
the Message of 1901 offers a practical method of determining in a
given case whether or not a duty-reduction proposed in reciprocity
involves a violation of the essential principles of protection and
Reciprocity in the American Tariff System 8i
hence threatens to be hurtful to the domestic industry concerned.
It is always possible to learn, with approximate exactness, the wages
and net cost of production in a manufacturing industry both at
hoine and abroad. In fact, the existing machinery of our govern-
ment can supply the required data, the consular service in the for-
eign field and the Departinent of Commerce and Labor in the
home market.
Reciprocity applied in accordance with the rule of action just
m.<^.ntioned will be, in the language of Secretary Hay's memorial
address upon President McKinley, "the bulwark of protection —
not a breach, but a fulfillment of the law."
Three Methods of Reciprocity Suggested.
In conclusion, there are three distinct modes for the attain-
ment of commercial reciprocity with foreign countries which
naturally suggest themselves to the student of the policy as desir-
able of adoption. These are,
I St. Reciprocity by commercial treaties made under the
constitutional power of the Executive. This method is well
adapted for the execution of a comprehensive and equitably
balanced reciprocal commercial convention with Canada or Mex-
ico, our great neighbors.
2d. Reciprocity by commercial agreements based upon
legislative authorization similar to that contained in Section 3 of
the present tariff, but with a greatly extended list of concessional
articles to meet the conditions of our trade with the leading coun-
tries of the world. This method involves further legislation by
Congress upon the lines of the first part of Section 3 . I have pointed
out the remarkably smooth workings of the existing statutor\-
provisions of this section; the ease with which the negotiations
were conducted, each contracting country knowing in advance
precisely the full extent of the possible concessions by the United
States; the silent and speedy manner in which the agreements
were carried into effect in this country by proclamation of the
President, without recourse to the Senate; the universal accept-
ance, without a murinur of disapproval, of the fait accompli by the
irdustrial interests of this country supposed to be especially inter-
ested, and, lastly, the substantial commercial advantages and
privileges secured to our trade through these agreements.
82 The Annals of the American Academy
The great advantage of this system of reciprocity must be
obvious to the reader. Congress has only to extend the present
short list of argols, wines, spirits, and works of art, into a much
larger list, applicable to all the great countries of the world with
which we might profitably enter into more satisfactory commercial
relations, putting into the new list articles of import which these
countries would desire to see reduced in duty, and, while fixing
the reduced duties at rates entirely consistent with adcc(uate
protection to home interests, an incentive would be ofifered to
each of those countries to make really valuable concessions to
the United States. It is an interesting circumstance to recall,
in this connection, that the framers of the Dingley law themselves
contemplated making the third section more far-reaching. As
originally passed by the House of Representatives, this section
provided for concessional reductions on chicle, sugar, laces of silk,
and mineral waters, besides the articles enumerated in the law as
enacted. The former articles, which were stricken out by the
Senate, would have rendered reciprocity under Section 3 still
more effective.
3d. Reciprocity by the adoption of a double tariff system,
with maximum and minimum rates of duty upon the same articles —
the higher rates to be applied to countries which discriminate
against, or levy unreasonable duties upon, our exports, and the
minimum rates to be enjoyed by those countries that extend
their best tariff treatment to the United States. This system,
which is in use by France. Russia, Spain, and Norway, has of
late been favorably discussed by leading American statesmen and
economists. The scheme is not so foreign to the reciprocity plan
now in operation as might be imagined. Its adoption would
simply mean the application to our entire dutiable list of the
principle of Section 3, which, on a limited number of dutiable
articles, has virtually established two rates, the general and the
concessional. By the European system, in addition to the free
list, the rates of the two tariffs are often identical on many articles.
One advantage of the double tariff as used by France is that
the legislature preserves the right to raise the minimum tariff
at any time, irrespective of existing treaty relations. Hence, the
revenue powers of the government are in no way impaired, and in
cases of emergency the entire minimum, as well as the maximum.
Reciprocity in the American Tarifj System 83
schedules may be increased ad libitum. This is the only important
difiference between the maximum and minimum system and the
conventional tariff system used by Germany, Italy, Austria-
Hungary, and Switzerland. In these countries the lower tariff
is made up of the aggregate of reduced duties provided in special
reciprocity treaties, and the benefits of such conventional reduc-
tions are mutually extended to third nations under the universal
operation of the general most-favored-nation clause, in accordance
with the well-known European interpretation given to that clause.
The first two methods above mentioned might be successfully
used in conjunction, as at present; but the third method, the
double tariff system, would seem to cover the whole ground and
pe?Tnit of no auxiliary arrangements. There is, however, one form
in V hich this system might be utilized in perfect harmonv with
independent reciprocity negotiations. If a scale of maximum
daties were created by Congress by a horizontal increase of the
present rates to the extent of, say, 20 per cent, such maximum
tariff could be reserved for retaliatory action against countries which
(vilfully discriminate against the United States, while, at the same
time, the regular tariff could be applied to the rest of the world
in general and be used, from time to time, as a basis of special
reductions in reciprocity, effected either by regular treaties or by
commercial agreements like those in force. A maximum tariff of
this character would mean simply the enactment of penal duties
to be applied in extraordinary cases by the executive branch of
the government, in the manner of existing provisions in the tariff
legislation of Germany and Belgium ; but the combined svstem of
reciprocity and penal tariff thus constituted would be comprehen-
sive, harmonicus, and effective in meeting all possible contingencies
in the commercial relations of the United States.
John Ball Osborne.
Washington, D. C.
THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE PRESENT FOREIGN
TRADE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
After years of comfortable satisfaction in its commercial and
industrial supremacy, the United Kingdom has suddenly become
conscious of the fact that its position is being assailed by the for-
eigner, and that something must be done to save it. As a result
the attention of the English people is absorbed at present in a
mighty campaign, the significant feature of which is that it involves
the reversal of a time-honored policy of free trade, and the substi-
tution therefor of a discriminative tariff, which, as directed against
foreign countries, shall grant preference to the trade within the
Empire. As might have been expected, this issue, involving as it
does a radical departure from a policy which has virtually attained
the character of a creed, has firmly set on foot the "spirit of in-
quiry. " In fact, the most interesting feature of the whole struggle
is the activity and zeal with which the discussion is carried on.
Both sides to the conflict have within an incredibly short period
of time overwhelmed the public with a mass of literature and sta-
tistical information, until practically every side of the United King-
dom 's foreign trade has been stated over and over again. And yet,
despite all that has been written and spoken, there is scarcely any
subject concerning which there is greater uncertainty in the public
mind.
Those who favor the existing policy of free trade base their
action primarily upon the great progress which England has ex-
perienced during the last half century. Without entering upon a
discussion of the causal connection between this progress and the
existing policy, it should, nevertheless, be stated that the develop-
ment of English trade and industry subsequent to the introduction
of free trade presents, on the whole, a case of remarkable progress.
Thus during the half century following 1850 the value of Great
Britain 's im])ort trade has approximately increased by four times,
while her exjjort trade has increased nearly three times. Not only
has her foreign trade increased more ra])itlly than her ])0])ulation,
but b\- far the greater part of her colonial trade has been created
within this period, the total trade figures in this respect rising from
>C53,666,588 in 1851 to £210,362,107 in 1901, or an increase of
[«4]
Foreign Trculc of the United Kingdom 85
nearh- three times. Similarly, the per capita wealth of the coun-
try has approximately doubled and the national income has
nearly trebled/ British shipping has increased its carrying power
by about fourteen times, and has grown in magnitude so as to
include over half the tonnage of the world." Lastly the United
Kingdom has become during this period a great creditor country,
whose returns upon her capital, now invested in all parts of the
globe, are annually swelling her imports to a higher and higher
figure.
Time, however, is producing a marked change in the com-
mercial position of the United Kingdom. The field of trade, which
was secured to Great Britain by virtue of her naval power and her
primacy in the art of modern manufacturing, and which, until
recently, was enjoyed by her practically as a monopoly against the
outside world, is now being invaded everywhere by commercial
rivals equal to her in natural resources, in skill and in industrial
organization, and only too eager to dispute her commercial suprem-
acy wherever possible. The great nations of the world, in other
words, have succeeded in availing themselves of the very advan-
tages , which constituted the source of England's commercial
monopoly. The result has been that these nations have placed
themselves upon a footing of industrial equality with England.
For the first time Great Britain has been forced to face the serious
competition of foreign rivals, and for the first time has the element
of competition effectively entered the field of international trade.
With this shifting in the position of the United Kingdom in
foreign trade, has gone a corresponding change in public opinion.
Despite the great progress which we have noted in Great Britain
since 1850, there has developed an influential party which declares
that this progress has reached its limit, and which sees in the near
future the possibility of England losing her position of first place
in the world's markets through the successful competition of her
rivals. It is held by this party that the English home market is
not only unprotected to-day against the importation of foreign
goods, but, also, that her foreign trade is being restricted from
year to year by constantly rising tariffs; that there is even danger
of England losing ground in the neutral markets of the world. In
' Mr. G. Armitage-Smith, "The Free-trade Movement and Its Results," p. 140.
- Ibid., p. 136.
86 The Auiials of the America): Academy
brief, British trade is characterized as ' ' stagnant ' ' and even ' ' retro-
gressive. ' ' Xo hope is oflfered to anticipate any change for the
better under present conditions. The United Kingdom, it is
claimed, being bound hand and foot by her present fiscal policy,
is rendered powerless to counteract the numerous evil tendencies
which are revealing themselves in her foreign trade.
To detennine, if possible, the extent to which these claims are
justified will be the principal object of this paper. And in attempt-
ing this we shall confine ourselves almost entirely to an analysis of
the statistics contained in the official Blue-Books and in the ' ' Mem-
oranda, Statistical Tables and Charts prepared in the British Board
of Trade. ' ' We shall allow the facts as presented in these sources
to assist us in giving, first, a brief analysis of the extent and salient
features of British trade as it exists to-day; and, secondly, a statis-
tical presentation of the tendencies of the foreign trade of the
United Kingdom in its relation, first, to the colonies and posses-
sions; secondly, to the principal protected nations; and thirdly,
to the free-trade area.
Aiialysis of Great Britain's Import and Export Trade.
To understand fully the commercial position of the United
Kingdom to the outside world it is essential that we first clearly
understand the nature of her trade. For the purpose of acquiring
this information the trade statistics of any recent year may be
analvzed to advantage, preferably those of 1900, since the details
for that year have been most carefully worked out. In exainining,
then, the statistics for this particular year, three principal features
of British trade force themselves upon our attention, namely, first,
the great preponderance of British imports over exports; secondly,
the great extent to which the United Kingdom is an importer of
food and raw material, and an exporter of manufactured produce;
and, thirdly, the relatively small importance of Great Britain's
imperial trade as compared with her foreign trade. These three
characteristics take precedence over all others, and must be
constantly borne in mind if we are to judge correctly the needs of
the United Kingdom in her commercial relation to foreign coun-
tries.
Turning our attention first to the excess of imports over ex-
ports, we find that the aggregate value of imports into the United
Foreign Trade of the United Kingdom
87
Kmgdom in 1900 amounted to i;5 23,000,000, while the aggregate
value of the exports, not including the ;^63.ooo,ooo of re-exjjorts
of imported produce, amounted to but £291,000,000. This enor-
mous difTerence between imports and exports commands our
special attention when we reflect that the annual difference
has been large for over half a century, and that, on the whole,
despite variations in individual years, this difference has been a
constantly increasing one. Thus, for example, it is found that
the proportion of exports to imports has gradually declined from
66.9 per cent in the period 1854-1858, to only 52.8 per cent in
1899-1902. Furthermore, if we divide the forty-eight years, 1854
-1902, into five-year periods, and then take the annual average
of imports for each respective period, we shall find that with the
exception of the years 1 884-1 888 each period shows a decided
increase over the preceding one, the successive gains being as
follows ?
1854-58.
1859-63.
1864-68.
1869-73.
1874-78.
1879-83.
1884-88.
1889-93.
1894—98 .
1899—02 .
Total Imports
(million £,).
163.8
216.2
331
376
402
372
422
437
514
Percentage
Increase.
32
30
17
14
7
decrease,
14
3
The total exports, on the other hand, increased rapidly in
money value prior to the years 1872 and 1873. Subsequent to
these years, however, no material advance occurred, on the whole,
until the years 1899 and 1900, when the South African War and the
Indian Fainine caused the exports of British produce to reach a
higher money value than ever before. Taking into account, hovv'-
ever, the general decline in prices during the last thirty years, we
would need to increase both imports and exports by probably some
30 per cent or more, thus showing an enormous increase in the
imports of the United Kingdom, as well as a substantial increase
' "Memoranda, Statistical Tables, and Charts prepared in the British Board of Trade on
British and Foreign Trade," 1903, p. 5.
88 The Auiials of ilic American Academy
in the exports.'' Considered for the last ten years, the annual
excess of imports of merchandise, bullion, and specie over exports
has averaged ;^ 161,000,000,''' varying during this period from a
mininium of ;^i32,ooo,ooo in 1893 to a maximum of ;^i84,ooo,-
000 in igo2.
The explanation for this enormous excess is found in the fact
that England holds the position of a creditor country, whose claims
upon the outside world in the form of profit from foreign invest-
ments and payment for services are received in the form of im-
ports. Thus England has loaned money to her colonies and to
foreign countries for industrial and military purposes, the returns
upon which are estimated by the British Board of Trade to greatly
exceed ;(^62,5oo,ooo." Next we must consider the profit going
to persons engaged in international trade, and this has been vari-
ously estimated at ;(^40,ooo,ooo.^ England is also the center for
marine insurance and international banking, and receives commis-
sions from these sources variously estimated at ;^i8,ooo,ooo.**
To these enormous returns we must further add the earnings of
the British carrying trade, now by far the greatest in the world
and estimated at approximately ;;^go, 000, 000," and also the returns
sent to England in the form of salaries, pensions and annuities
received by her citizens abroad. Other items of smaller impor-
tance, no doubt, exist, which, together with those already men-
tioned, furnish an ample explanation for the excess of imports
over exports. Indeed, the balance is again partly restored by
the fact that England is constantly exporting more money as
investments, in 1902 to the extent of over ;/r57,ooo,ooo,^" to her
possessions and to foreign countries.
Equally important to Great Britain's position as creditor
nation to the outside world is her increasing dependence upon the
outside world for her food supply. In fact, the United Kingdom,
owing to the increase of her population and the developinent of her
* Mr. A. Sauerbeck, fur examp)le, has calculated that British prices of commodities were .52
per cent lower in 1809 than for the period 1867-1877.
^ "Memoranda, Statistical Tables and Charts prepared in the British Board of Trade on
British and Forcifin Trade," 190.5 j). 99.
"Ibid., p. 103. Sir Robert Ciiffon has estimated that Great Britain receives in interest and
profits about /790, 000,000. "Journal Royal Statistical Society." 1899, p. 35.
'Mr. Harold Cox, "The United Kingdom and Its Trade," 1902, p. a.
"Sir Robert Giffcn. "Journal of the Royal Statistical Society," 1899, p. 35.
" "British Board of Trade Statistics on British and Foreign Trade," 1003, p. 102.
"•Ibid. p. 104.
Foreign Trade of the United Kingdom
89
manufacturing industry, has placed herself in a position of utter
inability to supply her inhabitants with her own food products.
That this is true can be readily shown by statistics. Thus in 1870
under the most favorable circumstances the total area of land
devoted to the raising of wheat reached 4,000,000 acres. In 1900,
however, this area hadfallen to 1,900,000 acres, or a decrease of 52.5
per cent. Mr. Harold Cox, by assuming that all this land could
again be brought back into wheat cultivation with the high average
yield of thirty-one bushels per acre, shows" that the total addi-
tional yield to the present amount of home-grown wheat would be
but 32,000,000 cwts., while the importation of wheat and wheat
meal into the United Kingdom in 1900 amounted to 98,000,000
cwts., or three times as much as could possibly be procured by more
than doubling the wheat area now under cultivation.
Still more marked does this dependence of the United Kingdom
upon the outside world for her supply of food become, when we
examine the import and export statistics themselves. From these
it appears that while the home production of wheat and wheat flour
has decreased from an annual average yield of 39,100,000 cwts. in
the period 1885-1887 to 29,700,000 cwts. in the period 1900-1902,
the importation of such products has, on the contrary, increased
Table I.
Wheat and Wheat Flour produced in and imported into the United Kingdom.
(Taken from the "British Board of Trade Statistics on British and Foreign Trade," 1903,
Table III, p. 108.)
1885-1887.
1 890-1 892.
1895-1897.
1900-1902.
Cwts.
Cwts.
Cwts.
Cwts.
(a) Total Quantities-
Home Production
39,144,392
37,769.969
27,290,694
29,737.190
Imported
76,521,910
89,175,178
98,528,186
102,529,945
(6) Quantities per head ot pop-
ulation:
Home Production
1. 1
1.0
0.7
0.7
Imported
2. 1
2.4
2.S
2.5
(c) Percentage of Total Quan-
tity:
Per Cent.
Per Cent.
Per Cent.
Per Cent.
Home Production
33.8
29.8
21.7
22.5
66.2
70.2
78.3
77S
" "The United Kingdom and Its Foreign Trade," 1902, p. 22.
go The Amials of the Amcricaji Academy
during the same periods from 76,500,000 cwts. to 102,500,000 cwts.
Home production of wheat and wheat flour has thus decreased in
fifteen vears from 33.8 per cent of the total necessary supply to only
22.5 per cent, while the importation has increased from 66.2 per
cent to 77.5 per cent or over three-fourths of the total. Stated with
reference to the increase of population, the per capita importation
of wheat and flour has steadily increased from 1.4 cwts. in 1870-
1872 to 2.5 cwts. in 1900-1902. During the same interval the per
capita importation of meat and animals for food, the next most
important item, has also steadily increased from 14.6 lbs. in 1870-
1872, to 30.2 11)S. in 1880-1882, to 41.4 lbs. in 1890-1892, to 56.6
tbs. in 1900-1902. In the first case, that of wheat and flour, the
per capita importation has nearly doubled in the last thirty years;
while in the case of meat and animals for food it has increased by
nearly three times.
Again, extending our examination not merely to the wheat and
meat supply, but to the entire food supply, it appears that the
United Kingdom has since 1870 increased its imports of food from
£91,750,000 in that year to i^2i9, 839, 229 in 1901, or a per capita
increase of from £.2 lys. ^d. in the former year to £^ 55. yd. in the
latter. It also appears that in the year 1900 the United Kingdom
imported foodstuffs to the extent of ;£2i3,o36,ooo, or over 40
per cent of the total imports, and exported such products to the
small extent of ;^i5,3i9,ooo, thus showing that the United King-
dom not only consumes nearly all her own food products, but is
obliged to import fourteen times as much as she is able to export.
So also in the case of raw material, the United Kingdom imports
over 3.5 times as much as she exports, the figures for imports in
1900 standing at ;^i55,36i,ooo, and for exports at but ;^43, 7 13,000.
In fact, the only item of English trade which tends to turn the
balance in favor of the exports is that of manufactured produce.
Yet here the preponderance in favor of exports is by no means as
great as is the preponderance of food and raw material on the
side of her imports. In the case of partly manufactured articles,
for example, England imports more than she exports, the figures
for 1900 l)eing ;^38,424,ooo for imports and £'35,846,000 for ex-
ports. Only in the case of finished manufactured goods does the
United Kingdom export more than she imports, but even here
Foreign Trade of the United Kingdom
91
her exports of ;(^ 19 2, 460, 000 in 1900 are largely offset by the
formidable figure of ;^ 104,1 1 1,000 for imports.
This large proportion of imported manufactured goods to the
exported has an added significance when we observe that the pro-
portion of manufactured exports to the total exports is a con-
st mtly decreasing one. The truth of this may be conveniently
sh )wn by dividing the thirty-eight years from 1864 to 1902 into
fis''e-year periods, and taking the average for each period with a
view of comparing the total exports of the United Kingdom with
the exports of manufactured or partly manufactured goods. Two
striking facts are revealed by such a comparison. First, that the
money value of manufactured exports from the United Kingdom
has on the whole remained practically constant between the years
1873 and 1899; and, secondly, that the proportion of manufac-
tured exports to the total exports has shown a decrease of from
92.3 per cent in the period 1 864-1 868 to 81.6 per cent during the
years 1 899-1 902. On the other hand the average annual value
of imported manufactures has steadily increased during the same
fi\^e-year periods from 16.4 per cent of the total imports in the years
1864-1868 to 27.8 per cent during the period 1899-1902.
Table II.
The Imports and Exports of the United Kingdom {Merchandise only) com-
pared with tlii- Imports and Exports of M anufactured or Partly Manufac-
tured Goods. (" British Board of Trade Statistics on British and Foreign
Trade," 1903, p. 5.)
Propor-
Proportion
Annual
Total Im-
ports of Mer-
Total Im-
ports of Man-
tion of
Manufac-
tures to
Total
Imports.
Total Ex-
ports of Mer-
Total Ex-
ports of Man-
of Manu-
factured
Exports to
Total
Exports.
Average for
chandise.
ufactures.
chandise.
ufactures.
Million £.
Million £.
Million £.
Million £.
Per Cent.
Per Cent.
1854-58
163.8
23.9
.4.6
109.6
98.9
89.3
1859-63
216.2
32.6
14.9
132.4
120.5
91.0
1864-68
282.2
46.3
16.4
175.0
i6t.s
02.3
i'^6q-73
33I-0
58.6
17.7
224.8
204.2
90.8
1874-78
376.4
75.4
20.0
21 1.2
189.3
89.6
1879-83
402.2
80.3
20.0
226.2
201. 1
8S.9
1884-88
372.2
84.6
22.7
223.0
196.9
88.3
1889-93
422.4
98.7
23.3
240.8
208.8
86.7
1894-98
437.8
II5-I
26.2
229.8
197.0
85.7
1899-02
514.5
143. 1
27.8
271.8
221.8
81.6
92
The Annals oj the American Academy
In brief, this examination of the three items of food, raw
material, and manufactured or partly manufactured produce,
leads to the following conclusions:
(i) That the United Kingdom is dependent upon the outside
world for a very large percentage of her food and raw material, and
that this dependence is an increasing one.
(2) That although manufactured produce constitutes by far
the most imj)ortant item among her exports, the United Kingdom,
nevertheless, imports considerably over half as much manufactured
produce as she exports.
(3) That the value of her net imports of food and raw material
exceeds the value of her gross exports of manufactured or partly
manufactured goods by over 40 per cent, and exceeds the value of
her net exports of such goods by over three and one-half times ; and
(4) That the importation of manufactured produce into the
United Kingdom, despite the fa£t that it already equals over half
the exports of such goods, shows a constant proportionate increase,
while the exportation of manufactures, on the other hand, shows
a constant proportionate decrease.
Great Britain's Trade xeith Jier Colonics.
What we are especially interested in is not so much the
momentary position of Great Britain's trade, as the dynamic side of
it, i. c, we are primarily interested in tendencies. It is essential,
therefore, to inquire into the development of British trade in con-
nection with her colonies and possessions, with her protected com-
petitors, and with that portion of the globe which may still be
described as a free-trade area. For the sake of convenience we
may begin with a discussion of Great Britain's colonial trade. Let
us attempt to determine its absolute and relative importance, and
to see whether the share of this colonial trade falling to the United
Kingdom is becoming proportionately greater or less in extent.
It may be observed in the first place that the trade with her
possessions forms but a comparatively small part of the total trade
of Great Britain. This appears clearly from an examination of
Tables III and IV, which present the total British imports and
exports of merchandise during the period 1858 to 1902 as com-
pared with the imports and exports sent to or derived from the
colonies.
r orcign Trade of the United Kingdom
93
Table III.
The Total lvalue of Imports of Merchandise into the United Kingdom and
the Amount Imported from British Possessions. '
I" British Board of Trade Statistics on British and ForeiRn Trade," ipo3. p. 40'.]
Annual Average for
1858-
1861-
1864-
1867-
1870-
1873-
1876-
1879-
•60
•63
■66
69
72
75
55-8
1894-
1897-
1900-
84
7
90
93
.96
99
02
Value of Total
Imports of
Merchandise.
Million £.
Value of Imports
from British
Possessions.
Million £.
184.3
40.0
230.6
^7-3
280.3
79-6
288.3
66.0
3330
72.6
3710
82.3
379-3
84.0
390-3
87.6
410.0
98.0
361.0
&3-3
412.0
93-3
421.3
96-3
422.3
94-3
469.0
100.3
5243
107-3
Proportion of
Imports from
Possessions to
Total Imports.
Per Cent.
21. 1
29.1
28.4
22.8
21.8
22.1
22.1
22.4
23-9
23.0
22.6
22.8
22.3
21.3
20.4
Table IV.
The Total I'alitc of Exports of Merchandise from the United Kingdom and
the Amount Exported to British Possessions.
["British Board of Trade Statistics on British and Foreign Trade, 1903," p. 411.]
Annual Average for
1858-60
1861-63
1864-66
1867-69
1870-72
1873-75
1876-78
1879-81
1882-84
1885-87
1888-90
1891-93
1894—96
1897-99
1900-02
Total Exports of
Merchandise.
MilHon £.
127.6
132.0
171. 6
183.3
226.3
239-3
197.6
216.3
2383
216.0
248.6
230.6
227.3
240.6
277.0
Value of Exports
to British
Possessions.
Million £.
43-3
45-0
51-0
49-3
54-3
69.6
67.0
71.6
83-3
76.3
84.6
77-6
75-6
83.6
101.6
Proportion of
Exports to
Possessions
to Total Exports.
Per Cent.
94 I lie Amials of the American Academy
It we divide the above forty-five years into fifteen periods of
three vears each, and compare the average annual imports of all
merchandise into the United Kingdom during each of these periods
with the average annual imports from the colonies, we shall find
that, with the exception of the years covering the Civil War, the
ratio for these respective periods has varied between the close
limits of 20.4 per cent and 23.9 per cent. Indeed, the United King-
dom's imports from the colonies during the last three years, 1900-
1902. fell to 20.4 per cent of the total, or a smaller proportion than
for either the years 1 858-1 860 or any succeeding three-year period.
Stated in absolute amounts, the value of the total imports of mer-
chandise into the United Kingdom has increased during the forty-
five years under consideration from /!i84,ooo,ooo to ;^523, 000,000,
or 184 per cent; while the value of the colonial imports into the
United Kingdom has increased from ;^4o,ooo,ooo to £?io7,ooo,ooo,
or 167 per cent. There is every reason, therefore, to conclude
that only slightly more than one-fifth of British imports of mer-
chandise has been received from the colonies during nearly the
whole of the last half century, and that this proportion may be
described as practically constant during all this time, with even
a slight tendency to decline.
Similar results are obtained by the above process in comparing
the total exports of merchandise from the United Kingdom with
the portion exported to the colonies. As in the case of imports,
so also in the case of exports, the relative value of the colonies has
remained practically constant since 1858. By dividing the period
1 858-1902 into three-year periods and comparing the average
annual exports of (ireat Britain to her possessions during each of
these periods with her total exports, it wnll be found that as regards
twelve of the fifteen periods the ratio has ranged between the close
limits of 29 and 35.3 per cent. During the same period the abso-
lute amount of Great Britain's ex])orts of merchandise increased
from /]i 27,000,000 to £277,000,000. or by 118 per cent, while the
portion exported to the colonies increased from £^43,000,000
to £101 ,000,000, or Ijy 135 per cent. These figures clearly intlic;.te
that British exports to the colonies constitute somewhat more than
one-third of the total, and that during the last half century ihere
has Ijeen but a slight change for the better in the relative value
of the colonies to the mother country as a market for her goods.
Foreign Trade of the United Kingdom 95
But while the relative value of the colonies to Great Britain
has thus scarcely undergone any change from the standpoint of
her total imports and exports, it is still argued that the colonies are
of superior importance to Great Britain in that they take from her
more than their pro])ortionate share of her ])roduce. That the
colonies do take a very disproportionate share cannot be disputed
if we compare the per capita consumption of British goods in the
leading British colonies with the per capita consuni])tion in the
leading foreign countries. Thus in his work on ' ' Colonial Govern-
ment," Professor Reinsch cites the per capita consumption of
British goods in West Australia at $58.98, in all Australia at S32.87,
in Cape Colony at $22.52, in New Zealand at $38.81, in Natal at
$17.97, and in Canada at $8.39; while the per capita consumption
of such goods in the United States, Germany and France stands
respectively at only $1.46, $2.40 and $2.52.^- The same author
also points out that ' ' Great Britain enjoys 52 per cent of the trade
of British Guiana, 62 per cent in Natal, 44 per cent in Canada
{^^ per cent of imports and 55 per cent of exports), 69.5 per cent in
Australia, and 53 per cent in India;' '^^ and concludes that ' 'it has
been computed that the per capita consumption of British goods
in all the British colonies is $15.81, while for all non-British coun-
tries it is only $3.64."^^
With reference to the category of manufactures, as distinct
from the total exports, the disproportionate value of the colonies
as a market for the mother country is also obvious, since they as
compared with the rest of the world take approximately 38 per
cent of her total exports of such goods. Yet here we must again
note that, while the proportion is very high, the relative value of
the colonies in this respect is undergoing but a slight change for
the better. Thus during the eleven years 1890- 1900 the annual
proportion of Great Britain's manufactures sent to the colonies
has fluctuated between the close limits of 35 and ^8 per cent of
her total exports of such produce, though the years 1901 and 1902
do indeed show the high proportion of 42 per cent. Nor has any
particular class of colonies taken the lead in becoming a market
lor British manufactures. On the contrary, the general constancy.
'-Professor P. S. Reinsch, "Colonial Government," 1902, p. 64.
"Ibid., p. 63.
"Ibid., p. 64
96 The Ainials of the American Academy
noted above, applies to the colonies in general. British India, for
example, imported less British manufactures in 1902 than in 1890;
and her proportion for the last thirteen years has fluctuated be-
tween the narrow limits of 13 and 15 per cent of the United King-
dom's total exports of manufactured or partly manufactured goods.
The proportion for the self-governing colonies has, likewise, fluc-
tuated during the years 1890-1900 between the extremes of 15 and
18 per cent, and only in 1901 and 1902 has this proportion risen to
21 and 23 per cent respectively. As regards all the other colonies
and possessions of Great Britain, the annual proportion of her
manufactures sent there during the last thirteen years has varied
between the extremely narrow margins of 5 and 6 per cent of her
total exports in this respect.
Turning next to a consideration of the value of the colonies
as a source of supply, we shall find that here, under present con-
ditions, the United Kingdom can depend upon them for only a
comparatively small part of her total necessary imports. Out of
a total importation in 1902 of over ;^36,ooo,ooo worth of wheat
and flour, the British colonies contributed but ;^8,553,ooo, or
less than one-fourth of the total. The United States alone supplied
over 60 per cent of the total, and granting an allowance of one-
sixth of this amount for Canadian wheat sent through American
ports, it still appears that the United States sent nearly twice as
much wheat and wheat flour to the United Kingdom as did all
the British possessions combined. So al.so in the case of barley,
oats, maize, rice and rice meal the colonies contributed but
;<Ii,658,ooo of the total imports of ^"25, 863, 000. or slightly more
than 6.4 per cent, the remainder coming chiefly from Russia,
Roumania, Germany and Argentine Republic. Moreover, in the
case of meat and animals for food the colonies furnished /^8, 7 3 7, ceo
worth in 1902, or only 18.5 per cent of the total imports of
;^47,o89,ooo. The United States, alone, supplied over 55 per c nt
of this total, or nearly three times as much as did all the Bri ish
possessions combined. If we now add to these principal classes
of food the other leading kinds of food products, such as flsh,
l)Utter, eggs, cheese, fruit, vegetables, sugar, tea, etc., we have a
total importation of such products into the United Kingdom to
the extent of £i()i ,\t^,ooo, of which the colonies and possessions
supplied but ;^39,i95,ooo, or one-fifth of the total. To this amount
Foreign Trade of the United Kingdom 97
must be added the sum for raw material sent to Great Britain,
which in 1902 amounted to ;£ 149, 183, 000, and to which the colo-
nies contributed ;C42,335,ooo, or 28.4 per cent of the total. Com-
bining the value of the raw material with the value of the principal
articles of food and drink, the United Kingdom im]jorted in 1902
a total of ;)C34o.347,ooo, of which the colonies furnished but
£ Si, 530, 000, or less than 24 per cent of the aggregate.
The colonies, as compared with foreign countries, have not
appreciably increased in value either as a source of supply or as a
market for the mother country, and they are fast becoming inde-
pendent of her as regard ^ their total international trade. Mr.
Ireland in his work on "Tropical Colonization"''^ has developed
this point verv clearly. He shows, for exarrtple, that during the
forty years 1856-95 the total exports of the British colonies have
increased from ;C 7 3, 000, 000''"' to ;^2 5 7, 000, 000,'^ while the value of
the portion exported to the United Kingdom during the same
period has increased from ;^4i,ooo,ooo to ;^94,ooo,ooo. Thus
while the total colonial exports have increased by 252 per cent, the
portion exported to the United Kingdom has increased only 129
per cent. Expressed in percentages, the decline in the relative
importance of the colonial exports to the United Kingdom as com-
pared with their total exports has been a gradual one of from
57.1 per cent in the period 1856-1859 to only 36.6 per cent in the
period 1892-1895.
Again, Mr. Ireland shows that the value of the total imports
into the colonies has increased during the period 1 856-1 895 from
;£S3,ooo,ooo'^ to £221,000,000'" or 166 per cent. The imports from
the United Kingdom to the colonies, on the other hand, have
increased during the same period from £39,000,000 to £72,000,000,
or by less than 85 per cent. In this case, like the preceding one,
the ratio of the imports from the United Kingdom to the total im-
ports into the colonies has been a gradually decreasing one of from
46.5 per cent in the period 1856-1859 to 32.4 per cent in the period
1892-1895.
If, now, w'e add to Mr. Ireland's figures the latest available
'^ Mr Alleyne Ireland. "Tropical Colonization," iUgg, y.]i. 97-00. loo-iot.
"' Annual average for the four years, 1856-59.
"Annual average for the four years. 1802-95.
'* Annual average for the four years, 1 856-1 859.
••Annual average for the four years, 1892-1895.
98 Tlic An)ials of the Amcricau Academy
statistics, namely, those for igoi, we shall find that his conclusions
have changed to only a limited degree. For this year the total
colonial exports amounted to ;^24o,ooo,ooo and the total colonial
imports to £255,000,000. The colonial exports to the United
Kingdom, on the other hand, amounted to /_"io6, 000,000 in igoi.
and the colonial imports from the United Kingdom to i^" 104, 000,-
000. Comparing these figures with Mr. Ireland 's corresponding
figures for 1856, the following conclusions are reached: (i) That
during the period 1856-1901 the total colonial imports have
increased by ;^i72,ooo,ooo, or over 207 per cent, while the colonial
imports from the United Kingdom have increased by ;^6 5,000, -
000, or 166 per cent, and (2) That during this same period the
total colonial exports have increased by ;^i8i,ooo.ooo, or nearly
248 percent, while the portion exported to the United Kingdom has
increased by only ;^65,ooo,ooo, or less than 159 percent.
Great Britain's Trade with Foreign Countries.
In the foregoing pages the discussion has been concerning the
trade between Great Britain and her colonial possessions, and there
was noted a marked tendency for her to share during the last half
century a relatively smaller proportion of their total import and
export trade. It now remains to examine briefly into the facts
regarding the trade of the United Kingdom with foreign countries,
especially with the principal protected countries as distinguished
from the unprotected.
Directing attention, then, to a study of the statistical evidence
pertaining to this part of Great Britain's foreign trade, one is at
once struck by the remarkable change which has occurred in the
proportionate distribution of British exports to these respective
areas. In 1850, according to the summary presented in the British
Board of Trade statistics,-" the proportions stood fifty-six to pro-
tected as opposed to forty-four for other markets. Following i S50,
however, the proportion sent to the protected markets steadily de-
clined until in 1902 the position had been reversed, the proportions
in that year being only forty-two to protected as opposed to fifty-
eight for other markets. Also, with reference to the category of
manufactured goods, as distinct from the total exports, the change
^"British Board of Trade Statistics on British and Foreign Trade," lyoj, p. 16.
Foreign Trade oj the United Kiiigdo
m
99
since 1850 has been most remarkable. In that year the propor-
tions, as given in the Board of Trade statistics,-^ stood fifty-seven
to protected as opposed to forty-three for other markets. In 1902,
however, the proportions had been reversed to only thirty-eight for
protected as opposed to sixty-two for other markets.
Proceeding next to a more detailed examination of the sta-
tistics bearing on this phase of our subject, the following two tables
must attract special attention as showing the position of Great
Britain 's export trade to the principal protected foreign countries.-^
Total Exports of British Produce to the Principal Protected ForcignCountries?^
Period. Average Annual Amount.
1865-1869 ;£8l, 808,000
1870— 1874 117,259,000
1875-1879 88,494,000
1880— 1884 99,590,000
1S85— 1889 91,985,000
1890-1894 95,032,000
1895-1899 94,693,000
I 900—1902 104.285.000
Exports oj British Manufactured or Partly Manufactured Goods to the Prin-
cipal Protected Foreign Countries.
Period. Average Annual Amount.
1865—1869 1^71,778,000
1870—1874 101,238.000
1875-1879 75.979,000
1880— 1884 84.922,000
1885— 1889 77,300.000
1890— 1894 77,075.000
1895— 1899 74,100.000
1900— 1902 75,464,000
A glance at the above tables at once reveals a condition of
absolute stagnation in Great Britain's export trade, and even of
a decline in view of the rapid progress made by other leading
nations. Thus, wdiile Great Britain's exportation of manufac-
tures to the principal protected foreign countries has made prac-
tically no advance since the period 187 0-1874, every one of the
-'" Ibid., p. if>.
-^ By the "Principal Protected Foreign Countries" as given in the British Board of Trade
statistics is meant the following list: Russia, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Spain,
Portugal, Italy, Austria-Hungary, and the United States.
^"Memoranda. Statistical Tables, and Charts" prepared in the British Board of Trade
on British and Foreign Trade. 1903, p. 20.
loo The Atnials of Uic American Academy
seven great industrial nations of the world, with the exception
of Italv. has greatly increased the exports of such goods to the
British market. Gennany, Belgium and Holland.-* for example,
have increased their combined ex])orts of manufactures to the
United Kingdom from £!37, 575, 73ft in 1890 to ;S56,528,o3g in 1902,
or an increase of over 50 per cent. From France such exports to
the United Kingdom have increased during the same years from
£'25.848,006 to £31, 071, 418. or 20 per cent; in the case of Russia
from £2,778.239 to £3,084.804, or over 11 percent; and in the
case of the United States from £ io,2 79.(-)f)g to £20,930,627, or an
increase of over 100 per cent. In every one of these countries, also,
with the exception of Italy, the proportion of the exports of manu-
factured goods to the total exports to the United Kingdom stood
higher in 1902 than in 1890.
But how, on the other hand, has Great Britain fared during
the same period as regards her export trade to these industrial
nations? The question can be best answered by again citing the
facts in each particular case. Germany, Belgium and Holland
actually imported £1,777,000 less of British manufactures in 1902
than in 1890. The exports of stich goods from the United King-
dom to France, likewise, decreased from £12,537,000 in 1890 to
£10.250,000 in 1902. or over 18 percent; to Italy for the same
years from £5,246,000 to £3,578,000, or over 31 per cent; and to
the United States from £29.089.000 to £19.468.000, or a decline of
over ^^ per cent. In Russia, alone, do we find an increase of
£1,560.000 during the entire period, yet even in this case there has
been a constant decline since 1899 of from £8,030,000 in that
year to £6,829.000 in igo2.
Viewing the above statistics in their combined effect, it appears
that the average annual exportation of British manufactures to
these industrial nations during the last seven years (1896-1902) has
actually been less than for the preceding six years (1890- 189 5) by
the sum of £1 ,901 ,1 19. On the contrary, the average annual expor-
tation of British manufactures to the remaining foreign countries has
shown an increase of £2,431,071 during the last seven years as
compared with the preceding years, 1890-1895. In other words,
-< Holland and Bel^'inm must be placed in the same list with Germany since much of the
trade recorded as between the United Kingdom and Holland and Belgium really represents
German trade carried on through the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.
Forc7(ii! Trade of the United Kingdom loi
the almost absolute constancy which has manifested itself in the
exportation of British manufactures to foreign countries must be ex-
plained by the absolute decline in the exports of such goods to the
industrial nations, a decline which has, however, been compensated
by a moderate gain in the neutral markets, and by the exception-
all\- high exports to the colonies in recent years.
But one other feature in the distribution of Great Britain "s
export trade as between the industrial nations and the other markets
of the world still remains to be noted, namely, the cliange in the
proportion of manufactured exports to the total exjjorts. Since
1850, for example, the percentage of British manufactures to the
[protected colonies of Canada and Victoria varied from (;3 ]jer cent
of the total exports in that year to qi y)er cent in igoo. India has
received practically the same proportion during the entire ])eriod
1860-1900; while, as regards the neutral countries and colonies,
the ])roportion has fluctuated from gi per cent in 1850 to 85 per
cent in igoc. In the case, however, of the jjrincipal ]>rotected
countries the change has been considerably greater. In 1850 their
imports of Great Britain's manufactures amounted to 06 j^er cent
of her total exports to those countries. By i860 the proportion
had fallen to go per cent, and in 1870 to 86 per cent. In the suc-
ceeding three decades the proportion fell from 85 per cent in 1880
to 83 per cent in 1890, and as low as 72 per cent in 1900. These
])ercentages clearly indicate that while the industrial nations are
sending a larger proj^ortion of their total exyjorts to Great Britain
in the form of manufactured goods, they in turn are taking a larger
])roportion of their im])orts from Great Britain in the form of raw
material for the vitilization of their own industries.-''
Conclusion.
The results of this discussion of the main features of the foreign
trade of the United Kingdom may be summarized as follows:
(i) That the annual imports of the United Kingdom, owing
principally to her returns on foreign investments and her remunera-
tion for services, vastly exceed her exports. Moreover, that this
annual excess of imports over exports has been large for over half
a century and is, on the whole, an increasing one.
-■" " British Board of Trade Statistics on British and Foreign Trade," 190 .;. p. 17.
102 Tiic Annals oj the American Academy
(2) That subsequent to the years 1871-1S75 the money value
of Great Britain 's export trade, despite large variations in indi-
vidual vears, shows scarcely any advance until the years 1899 and
1900, when an unusual increase occurred through the influence
exerted bv the South African War and the Indian Famine. Con-
sidering, however, the general decline in prices during the last
quarter of a century, the apparent constancy in Great Britain's
export trade becomes in reality a substantial increase.
(3) That the United Kingdom is becoming more and more
dependent upon the outside world for her supply of food : and that
in this connection she must depend upon sources outside of the
empire for practically four-fifths of her total imports.
(4) That the proportion of imported manufactured goods to
the total imports into the United Kingdom has shown a constant
increase, while the proportion of manufactured exports to the total
exports from the United Kingdom has, on the other hand, shown
a constant decrease.
(5) That, as compared with foreign countries, the colonies and
possessions of Great Britain take approximately 38 per cent of her
exports of manufactures, and in turn supply approximately one-
fifth of her imports of food and somewhat more than one-fourth
of her imports of raw material.
(6) That, as compared with foreign countries, the relative
value of the colonies to the United Kingdom, either as a source of
supplv or as a market for her produce, has scarcely undergone any
change during nearly the whole of the last half century; also, that
the colonies are l)ecoming more and more independent of her as
regards their total import and export trade.
(7) That the ])roportions of Great Britain's export trade to the
protected and unprotected markets have been reversed since 1850,
and especially so as regards the category of manufactured goods.
(8) That since 1890 the United Kingdom has experienced an
absolute loss in her exports of manufactures to the leading indus-
trial nations, a decline which has, however, been compensated by
gains in the neutral foreign markets as well as in her colonies.
Moreover, these industrial nations, while taking a smaller propor-
tion of their imports from the United Kingdom in the form of
manufactured goods, have considerably increased their exports of
such goods to her own market.
Foreign Trade oj the United Kingdom 103
The above conclusions regarding Great Britain 's relative eco-
nomic position may best be summed up by viewing her situation
from two different standpoints, namely, (i) as a capitalist and sea-
faring nation, and (2) as a manufacturing and exporting nation.
From the point of view of the former, Great Britain's supremacv, as
may be inferred from her immense and increasing im]>orts, is still
unshaken. In fact, her imports amount to 83 per cent of the com-
bined imports of France, Germany and the United States, and in
the year 1902 exceeded her exports by the enormous sum of
;^i84,ooo,ooo. Over half the tonnage of the world is to-day
in the possession of Great Britain; and more than any other
country she may also be described as a "creditor and landlord
nation" whose financial supremacy, as has been aptly said, "rests
on a far broader basis than the territory of England itself ; it draws
its strength from the entire world. ' "'''
As a manufacturing and exporting nation. Great Britain also
stands far in the lead as regards absolute trade figures. Yet here
are noticeable tendencies which, in view of the fact that the United
Kingdom's industrial welfare is inextricably bound up with her
export trade, must give cause for uneasiness. In the first place,
her colonies and possessions are more and more becoming indepen-
dent of her as regards their international trade. Foreign countries
in the vear 1900 exported merchandise to the extent of ;^47.ooo,-
000 to the self-governing colonies as opposed to ;^ 5 5, 000, 000 for
the United Kingdom itself, and of this amount approximately 68
per cent consisted of products which the United Kingdom pro-
duces, and which in large measure she could be expected to export
in competition with foreign countries. Secondly, we have noted
an absolute decline in the United Kingdom 's exports of manufac-
tured articles to the leading industrial nations, while they in turn
have considerably increased their exports of such goods to the
British market. Moreover, there has been a reversal in the ' ' pro-
portionate distribution of British exports as between the protected
and unprotected markets. ' ' After making due allowance for all
other causes which may have operated towards such a reversal, we
must conclude with the British Board of Trade Memoranda that
' ' there can be no doubt as to the effect of Continental and American
tariffs in checking Great Britain's export trade, especially in manu-
-'' Professor P. S. Reinsch, "Colonial Government," 1902, p. 82.
I04 Tli^' Auiials oj the American Academy
laclured articles, with the group of 'protected countries' during
the last two decades."-' Lastly, Great Britain has permanently
lost her monopoly in the manufacturing industry which an early
start had given her for many years, and is henceforth obliged to
comjjete with a numi)er of nations whose energy, skill and indus-
trial efhciencv have in recent years risen to a level with her own,
if not exceeded her in certain cases, and which, wdiile protecting
their own markets against Great Britain's manufactures, are con-
stantly seeking a wider market in the neutral countries as well as
in the British colonies. It is but a matter of time when Great
Britain, if she wishes to hold her own against the combined com-
petition of the leading industrial nations, wall either have to face
them openly in an attempt to overcome their inroads upon her
export trade through superior skill or industrial organization or
otherwise be forced over to a policy corresponding to that of her
protected rivals. If she decides to choose the latter course, it
seems in all probability that she may best avoid the brunt of foreign
competition by attracting to herself commercially, through restric-
tive measures, that vast and choice part of the world which is now
bound to her politically.
Sol.OMOX liUEBXER.
PliiliiLMphui.
"'• "British Buard of Trade Statistics on British and ForeiKn Trade," 190,?, p. 16.
THE DEVELOPMEXT OF MR. CHAMBERLAIN'S FISCAL
POLICY
One may search diligently through the voluminous periodical
literature upon the subject of the present fiscal controversy in
England without Ijeing at all sure that he understands just what
sul>ject is under discussion. Those who range themselves upon
the side of the ex-Colonial Secretary dwell upon the peril to Eng-
land in not having a navy which outnumbers the ships of all the
rest of the world in a ratio of five to three; or analyze the foreign
trade of the United Kingdom and tremble because the balance is
constantly against Great Britain, and because over 50 per cent of
the wheat, flour, and meat consumed by her inhabitants is drawn
froin the United States. They find that, from whatever point they
view the situation, a new fiscal policy is necessary; but as for dis-
cussion of any specific proposals, there is little of it.
Mr. Chamberlain himself long hesitated to outline any specific
policy ; it was not feasible to do so before the administration had first
been given general powers to negotiate with the colonial and foreign
governments, and had had an opportunity in the course of such
negotiations to work out a detailed outline. However, in liis speech
at Glasgow, October 7, 1903. Mr. Chamberlain did give a detailed
and specific outline of his policy, though claiming it to be merely
provisional and suVjject at any time to modifications.
He proposed to lay a specific duty of two shillings per quarter
upon foreign grain, excepting from this duty maize, which was the
food of the verv poor of England, and also was the ''raw material
of the farmer, ' ' it being the principal material with which he fat-
tened his swine. To compensate this tax he proposed to place a
duty upon wheat flovir imported from foreign countries, making it
large enough to give to the British miller a " substantial ])refer-
ence;'' the object of the latter feature being to re-establish the
flour-milling industry of England. He further contemplated an
ad valorem duty of 5 per cent on foreign meat and dairy produce,
excepting bacon, "a popular food with some of the poorest of the
population," in order to encourage the production of those com-
modities in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. And finally he
would possiblv place a tax upon foreign fruits and wines in order
[105I
io() Tlic Aiiuals of the American Academy
to favor the producers of fruits and wines in Soutli Africa and Aus-
tralia; though this item was more provisional than the others.
To compensate the British consumers for any small burdens
which the foregoing taxes might impose upon them, Mr. Chamber-
lain proposed a reduction of the duties on certain articles which are
already on the tariff list. These reductions consist of a remission
of four pence per pound of the duty on tea, or 75 per cent; a reduc-
tion of 50 per cent of that on sugar, and ' ' corresponding ' ' reductions
of the duties on cofTee and cocoa.
These proposed reductions were estimated as amounting to
four shillings per head of population; while the ])roposed new taxes
would amount to only three shillings, netting a loss to the Ex-
chequer of two million eight hundred thousand sterling. To
recoup the treasury for this loss, he proposed to place upon manu-
factures imported from foreign countries an average duty of 10 per
cent. This, he estimated, would yield about nine millions sterling
and leave a large surplus on the basis of which to make further
reductions in existing duties.
In his speech at Birmingham on May 15, 1903, Mr. Chamber-
lain had unreservedly expressed himself in favor of remitting to
the people the whole increase of revenue from his proposed duties
on foodstuffs in the form of old-age pensions. But in his more
recent speeches he seems to have abandoned that item of his |)ro-
gramme.
The objects of this fiscal policy, as expressed or implied in the
course of his speeches, are three in number. The first sometimes
appears under the name of "retaliation," and just as often under
that of ' 'reciprocitv. ' " Mr. Chamberlain is careful to disclaim any
protectionist sympathies, like Mr. Balfour, "approaching the issue
from the free-trade standpoint. ' ' But he finds that the protective
policies of the other great commercial and industrial nations have
rendered actual free trade non-existent; all that Great Britain has
to represent it is " free imports. ' ' He would therefore place duties
upon the principal imports from foreign countries, as a matter of
retaliation against them, and in order to place the United Kingdom
in position to negotiate reciprocity treaties with those foreign coun-
tries. The latter feature, however, does not seem to occupy an
imjjortant place in his programme.
In this retaliatory programme an exception is to be made in
Development of Mr. Chambcrlaiii'.s Fiscal Policy 107
favor of the British colonies in return for concessions from them,
in duties placed upon imports from Great Britain. This is part
of a scheme of intra-imperial reciprocity, the object of which is to
cement the British empire together l)y developing the commercial
relations between its parts. And at the outset of the present fiscal
cainpaign this, rather than retaliation against foreign countries,
seemed to be the mark at which Mr. Chamberlain was aiming.
This object, closer union of the empire, is the one in connection
with preferential tariffs which is expressly stated by the advocates-
of the policy. A second object is implied in the course of the argu-
ment, namely, a strengthening of the national or imperial defence.
The manner in which preferential tariffs are to accomplish this is
by rendering the empire less dependent upon foreign sources for
its food supply. Everything which the inhabitants of the empire
need could be obtained in very considerable quantities from within
its own borders if the natural resources were developed. Premier
Rollin, of Manitoba, has shown with considerable plausibility that
if the present rate at which the western provinces of the Dominion
are being peopled and developed continues, Canada can in a very
few years furnish the United Kingdom with all the wheat it needs,
whereas now Great Britain takes about 50 per cent of the wheat,
flour, and meat she consumes from the United States. South
Africa, Australia and New Zealand have great possibilities as meat-
producing regions, and a preferential tarift' which would favor these
industries and stimulate the development of Western Canada would,
in the view of the fiscal reformers, render the United Kingdom
largely independent of the rest of the world for her food supply and
greatly add to her security and power in the event of a foreign war.
Finally there remains to be named an object which Mr. Cham-
berlain would not probably, and in fact does not, admit as being
before him in the present controversy, namely, protection. The
ex-Colonial Secretary expressly denies the charge of lieing a ])ro-
tectionist ; yet in the fiscal scheme which he has outlined he would
give ' ' a substantial preference ' ' to the British flour producer in
order to re-establish "one of England's greatest industries;" in
his Greenock speech he appealed very effectively to his audience
by expressing himself as desirous of restoring to them the sugar
industrv which had been destroyed through foreign competition.
Elsewhere he named, in support of his argument, three industries
io8 77a' Annals of the Anicricaii Academy
wliich have been destroyed by foreign competition, namely, sugar,
which was alluded to above, agriculture, and silk manufacture.
The tin-plate imlustry lost its valual;)le American market after the
United States placed its protective duty around the manufacture
of tin plate witliin its own borders. The American practice of
"dum])ing" its surplus iron and steel manufactures on the English
market has seriously threatened the iron trade of the United King-
dom. The implication in these a]4)eals seems protective; and
indeed, in his contemplated duties of lo per cent on imported manu-
tactures. Mr. Chamberlain might Ijc and has l)een accused of slip-
ping into his jjrograinme a moderately protective feature under the
guise of a comi^ensation to the treasury for reductions of other
taxes. Although he claims that his purpose in this is ultimately to
bring about a nearer a])proach to actual free trade, he nevertheless
seems friendly to the protective idea, going so far as to cite the great
progress of Germany and the United States under high protective
systems as indicating a fallacy in the Cobden doctrines of free trade.
The objects which Mr. Chamberlain has in view, then, are:
nominally, retaliation or reciprocity, strengthening of the imperial
defence, a closer union of the empire, and seemingly, at least, pro-
tection to British manufacturers. These ideas of imperial defence,
imperial federation, protection to British manufactures, or, as it is
customary to put it. England's relative industrial decline, — and the
■means of treating these phenomena, preferential tariffs within the
empire, — are intimately associated in all discussions of the present
situation. The desirability of preserving the integrity of the empire
is generally assumed, and then it is shown that from whichever of
the remaining ideas we set out, preferential treatment of the British
colonies necessarily results.
Thus, if we start from the stantlpoint of retaliation against
foreign countries, or of ])rotection. we must make an exception in
favor of the colonies in order to keep the em])ire from disintegrating.
One writer, beginning with adiscussion of imijerial defence as a basis,
■shows that the rapidK' increasing burden of militar\' and naval ex-
ytenditures will necessitate a revolution in the fiscal policy of the
United Kingdom ; the income tax cannot be made to yield the addi-
tional revenue needed; indeed, the ])resent high rate, which is a
war measure, cannot hojje to be maintained in time of peace; the
remaining taxes and customs cannot l)e made to yield a material
I)cvcU>p»icj(t oj Mr. Cluinihcrltiiii's /''iscal Pclicy 109
increase in revenue. The necessary result will be the imi)osition
of new taxes, and these, it is assumed, will be somewhat protective
in their nature. Thus the writer arrives at the idea of protection.
And as before, it is assumed that an exception must be made in
favor of the colonies, lest the empire disintegrate, and the necessitv
•of preferential tariffs is shown.
ndeed, these questions o' imperial federation, imperial de-
fence, etc.. have been intiinately associated with one another and
with that of preferential arrangements within the empire almost
from the beginning. Great Britain's industrial decline is, for the
most part, a new subject; yet even as early as 1887, Mr. Hofmeyr,
•of South Africa, cited this very matter of the decline of British
•exports as an argument in favor of an imperial customs arrange-
ment; while imperial defence, or imperial federation in its broader
sense, has ever been the excuse of the colonists for clainoring for a
preference for their products in the markets of Great Britain.
To trace the development of the present fiscal policy we may
use as a starting-point the colonial philosophy which ruled during
the early and middle part of the last century. The revolt of the
American colonies, coupled with the spirit of liberalism which per-
vaded the political philosophy of the time, induced an attitude of
indifference, and indeed of pessimism, toward dependencies. It
was believed that in the natural course of events the colonies would
one by one sever their political relations with the empire, and be-
•come independent states; and the insistent demands of the Aus-
tralasian colonies for complete local autonomy seemed to substan-
tiate this view. In 1841 Lewis published his work on Government
in Dependencies, and in this he found that the chief advantages
arising from the relationship of sovereign state and dependency
were on the side of the dependency, and that even these survived
•only during the youth of the dependency. Hence Great Biitain
was not only to expect that her colonies would ultimately become
independent, but was to look forward with favor to the accomplish-
inent of this end. as relieving the mother country of a part of her
burdens.
This philosophy largely jjrevailed down till the middle of the
eighties; it was this philosophy which induced Mr. Disraeli to
refer to the colonies as '"millstones about the neck of England;"
and it has been asserted that this ])hilosophy, with which Mr. Glad-
no The Annals of the American Academy
stone seems to have l)een thoroughly imbued, rather than the Boer
success at Majuba Hill, gave to the South African Republic its inde-
pendence in 1881. And even as late as 1894, and indeed at the
present time, we find writers who confidently assert that the pros-
perity and safety of both the United Kingdom and the colonies is
to be gained through the com])lete inde{)endence of the latter rather
than in a closer federation.
But this early attitude toward colonial possessions has been
gradually reversed. In 1854 Mr. Joseph Howe delivered before
the Xova Scotia Legislature an address in which he took vital issue
with the orthodox colonial ])hilosophv of his time.^ This was the
time when the ' ' Separatist ' ' movement was seemingly especially
strong because of the clamors of the colonies for local autonomy.
Joseph Howe was instrumental in this movement; but he favored
it, not as a step toward complete separation, but ''toward a closer
and more satisfactory federation of the empire. ' ' And this nnay
be said to mark the l)eginning of the present ' 'imperialistic' ' move-
ment.
In 1883 Seeley published his "Expansion of England,'' and
instead of descanting upon the disadvantages of colonies, he dwelt
rather upon the things which Great Britain had accomplished, and
even grew eloquent upon the subject of the glories of the empire.
This is significant in that it seems to have made considerable im-
pression upon the English people of the day.
By 1884 the imperial idea seems to have gained a strong,.
though by no means preponderating hold upon the colonists, and
a considerable following in the mother country as well. In that
year was formed the Imperial Federation League, of which the late
W. E. Foster was the first president. The purpose of its organi-
zation was ' ' To arouse interest in the general idea of imperial
federation, to discussing its feasibility, to advocate periodical con-
ventions of colonial representatives, and to promulgating the sug-
gestion that the colonies should assume part of the burdens of im-
perial expenditure, and thus give some return for the benefits-
received.''- The idea back of it was, that the constitutional
arrangement under which the empire was then governed could not
' Parkin. "Imperial Federation," pp. 71-72. This was published in 1866, in a collection
of speeches unrler the title uf "Organization of the Empire."
* P. S. Rcinsch, "Colonial Government " p. 260.
Development of Mr. Chaynber Iain's Fiscal Policy
III
136 permanent if the empire was to be united; that the resources
of the empire should be combined for the common defence, and
that all parts to bear the burden should have a voice in the control
of imperial expenditures.^
The Imperial Federation League held annual dinners, at wliich
these various subjects were discussed ; but it never took any definite
position in regard to any of them, except to recommend that colo-
nial conferences like that of 1887 should be held at frequent inter-
vals; its function was to discuss and promote discussion rather than
to recommend. It was dissolved in 1893, and in 1895 its place was
taken by a new organization, the British Empire League.''
The idea of imperial unity has developed more rapidly since
the colonial conference of 1887. A kindly feeling toward the colo-
nies had been induced by the small but voluntary assistance ren-
dered by New South Wales in the difficulties which culminated in
the fall of Khartoum; and the colonies were called to a conference
at the time of the Queen's Jubilee of 1887. At this conference the
subject of British preference to colonial products, which seems by
that time to have pushed itself toward the front, was expressly
withheld from discussion ; but one of the colonial premiers hit upon
the happy idea of discussing ' ' preference ' ' or reciprocitv onlv as
it applied to intercolonial relations.
Sir Samuel Griffith, Premier of Queensland, who introduced
the subject before the conference, expressed himself as not being
sanguine of any immediate success, but thought that "an airing of
the question might result in future good. ' ' He expected no favor
from Great Britain. "The principle dear to English hearts of
buying in the cheapest and selling in the dearest market, would
render any immediate results improbable. ' ' Notwithstanding
this, he thought that the closer union of the empire was a thing to
be desired; and to attain that end he made the immediate pro-
posal ' ' that any country in the empire which should impose duties
on imports should give to commodities coming from British pos-
sessions a preference over those from foreign countries. ' '''
The Cape delegates, headed by Mr. Hofmevr, had pro])osed,
among others, this subject for discussion: "The feasibility of pro-
moting closer union between the various parts of the British empire
■* T. A. Brassey, "Nineteenth Century," vo]. 50, pp. 190 et seq.
■* P. S. Reinsch, "Colonial Government," p. 261.
^English Bluebooks, 18.S7, "Accounts and Papers," LVI, p. i et seq.
112 Tin- Annals of the American Acadnny
by means of an imperial customs tariff, the revenue derived froin
such tariff" to be devoted to the general defence of the empire."
Mr. Hofmeyr, who followed the lead opened by Sir Samuel Griffith,
proposed that for the purpose of raising reventie for imperial
defence, a general tariff" of possibly 2 per cent should be levied on
all goods coming into the empire; this was not to supplant the
tariff' arrangements then existing in the several parts of the empire,
but was to be additional to theni. thus constituting in effect a
preferential arrangement within the British empire.
His first object was to promote the union of the empire. The
natural consequence of the dispersion of the empire was the develop-
ment of local interests, which, in turn gave rise to disintegrating
tendencies. This was exemplified in the British West Indies, where
had grown up a strong sentiment in favor of annexation to the
United States in order to secure a market for their sugar; the
temptations of Canada to enter into a commercial and possibly a
political union with the United States was also an illustration of
this point; in fact, the Imperial Federation League of Canada was-
formed for the express purpose of preventing the Dominion govern-
ment from accepting from the United States certain propositions,
concerning a customs union l)etween the two countries, which were
regarded as an ingenious trick, the pur])ose of which was to event-
ually l)ring Canada into the American Union. It was Hofmeyr 's
aim. by removing such temptations, to counteract the disintegrating'
tendencies in the empire. His second object was to bring about a
more satisfactory arrangement in regard to imperial defence. Up
to that time only Australia had agreed to contribute anything to-
the expenses of the imperial navy, and this contribution was insig-
nificant, amounting only to ninety odd thousand sterling a year.
Although the comments on this proposition were in large part
favorable, no resolutions were passed. In so far as the material
results of this, and indeed of the following conference, are con-
cerned, these are accurately stated by Lord Knutsford. then Colo-
nial Secretary, in his despatcli. "'The conference,'" wrote he,
"has l)een yjroductive of the greatest good, in the opportunities
which it has afforded for the interchange of information.
During the years following this conference, the idea of prefer-
ential tariffs seems to have gained supporters rapidly, especially
in Canada, where Sir Charles Tupper and George T. Dennison have-
Development of Mr. Chamberlain's Fiscal Policy 113
been active in agitating the matter. The former supported the
idea at the annual dinner of the Imperial Federation League in
1889; the United Trade Empire League was formed for the pur-
pose of advocating the promotion of intra-imperial trade by means
of "a moderate fence around the empire." This organization, in
1892. numbered five thousand members, three hundred of whom
were members of imperial or colonial parliaments." The idea was
commended by the resolutions of the Associated Chambers of Com-
merce at Dublin in 1891 ; l)y motion of the Dominion House of Com-
mons on April 25. 1892; and in June, 1892, by a session of the
United Trade Empire League, at which were representatives from
Great Britain, South Africa, Canada and the Australasian colonies,
and at which "no discordant note was heard. "^
The question of preferential tariffs within the empire took first
place in the discussions of the Second Congress of the Chambers of
Commerce of the empire in June. 1892. The first two resolutions
dealt respectively with the expediency of closer union of the parts
of the empire and with free trade as a basis for promoting this.
Mr. G. W. Medley, of the London Chamber of Commerce, then
offered a resolution, rejecting the idea of preferential duties based
on protection as "politically dangerous and economically disas-
trous," and recommending to the colonies that, as far as circum-
stances would permit, they should adopt the non-protective policy
of the mother country.
To this Sir Charles Tupper oft'ered an amendment, recom-
mending a small differential duty, not exceeding 5 per cent, to be
adopted by the imperial and colonial governments, in favor of
certain productions and against foreign imported articles. The
debate waxed hot for two days, when the amendment was finally
defeated and the original motion carried by a vote of fifty-five to
thirty-three, Australasia and South Africa voting against the
amendment. In view of the declarations of prominent leaders
of the Australasian governments, and of their important trades
bodies, this attitude was unexpected. Sir Samuel Griffith, Pre-
mier of Queensland; James Service, of Victoria, and his successor,
Alfred Deakin; Sir John Downes, of South Australia; Sir William
Fitzherbert, of New Zealand, and the Hon. Mr. Dibbs, Premier of
''Sir Charles Tupper, "Fortnightly Review," vul. 5S, p. i_<7.
^ Ibid., "Fortnightly," 58, p. 138.
114 Tlic AuiioJs of the American Academy
Xew South Wales, as well as the Chambers of Commerce of Canter-
bury, New Zealand, Hamilton and Cape Town, had all placed
themselves on record as favoring preferential tarififs.'^ This was
the last free-trade resolution to be offered at any congress of the
Chambers of Commerce or any colonial conference.
The second colonial conference met at Ottawa in 1894, all the
above-named parts of the empire again being represented. The
discussions impress one as being largely a repetition of those of 1887.
The subject of preferential tarilTs took the lead in the discussions,
and ' ' what we might call the theoretical view of free trade — ■
almost the Utopian idea of trade — was expressed side by side wath
those from the colonies, which were already feeling the stress of
foreign protective tariffs. The wish of some of the delegates was
that the colonies should be allowed a free hand in making commer-
cial treaties and even without the empire. ' "'
The resolutions emphasized the advisability of permitting the
colonies to enter into agreements of commercial reciprocity, in-
cluding the power of making differential tariffs within the empire,
and recommended to Great Britain that she should cancel certain
foreign treaties which obstructed this arrangement. They em-
phasized the importance of ' ' mutual and profitable commerce ' '
as a means of binding the parts of the empire together, and finally
resolved, (i) in favor of a customs arrangement between Great
Britain and her colonies, creating preferences; (2) that until the
mother country could see her way clear to entering into such an
arrangement, it was desirable that the colonies should enter into
such arrangements with one another; (3) that the South African
Customs Union ' ' should be considered as part of the territory
capable of being brought within the scope of the contemplated
trade arrangements. ' '*"
So far as actual results, other than promoting a discussion of
the subjects therein raised, this conference had the same amount
of success as did the preceding. Lord Jersey, who could not see
anv likelihood of a favorable reception of the preferential idea in
England, delivered an address which was calculated to allay any
false hopes which might have arisen in the breasts of the premiers;
» Sir Charles Tupper. "Fortnightly," s>*. i,^" el scq.
•J. Van Sommer, "MaKazine of Commerce," September, 1003, p. 178
'"English Bluebooks, 1894, "Accounts and Pajjers," LVI, pp. 337 ct seq.
Development of Mr. Chamberlain's Fiscal Policy 115
Lord Ripon, in his despatch, adopted the same attitude, and noth-
ing came of the conference.
In the sessions of the Congress of the Chambers of Commerce
in 1896 and 1900, and the Colonial Conference of 1897, there was
nothing much new except Mr. Chamberlain and the language in
which the resolutions were couched. Mr. Chamberlain, who came
into the Colonial Secretaryship in 1895 and who represented the
British government at the Congress of the Chambers of Commerce at
London in 1896, has been pre-eminently the apostle of imperial
federation; yet in 1896 he discouraged all attempts to get prefer-
ential customs treatment from Great Britain, saying:
' ' I pass on now to a proposal which found expression at the great Con-
gress [of Chambers of Commerce] of Ottawa, and which was that we should
abandon our trade system in favor of the colonial system. It is in effect
that we should be expected to change our whole system and to impose
duties on food and raw material. There is not the slightest chance that
in any reasonable time such an agreement would be adopted. The foreign
trade of this country is so large, and the foreign trade of the colonies Is
comparatively so small, that a small preference given to us upon that foreign
trade would make so slight a difference, and would be so slight a benefit, to
the total volume of our foreign trade that I do not believe the working
classes of this country would consent to make a revolutionary change for
what they think would be an infinitesimal gain. We have, therefore, if
we are to make progress, to seek a third course, and I admit, if I under-
stand it correctly, I find the germs of such a proposal in a resolution to be
submitted to you on behalf of the Toronto Board of Trade. That resolution
I understand to be one for the creation of a British Customs Union.""
This resolution, introduced by the Toronto Board of Trade,
and dealing with such practical subjects as the building of the
Canadian Pacific Railway, the establishment by Canada of steam-
ship connection with Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia, the
subsidy of a fast Atlantic steamship service, and the hastening of
postal, wire and cable communications with different portions of
the empire, was to this effect:
"Resolved, that in the opinion of this Congress, the advantages to be
obtained by a closer union between the various portions of the empire
are so great as to justify an arrange:ncnt as nearly as possible of the nature
of a zollverein, based upon the principles of the freest exchange of com-
modities within the empire consistent with the tariff requirements incident
""Magazine of Commerce," September, 190,5, p. 179.
ii6 I'lic Annals of the American Acaeieniy
to tlu- maintcnanci.' of tlic local governments of each kingdom, dominion,
province, or colony now forming jiarl of the British family of nations. "'-'
This resolution, which was given precedence in the debates,
was amended so as to tavor ' ' a customs union between Great
Britain and her colonies on the basis of 'preferential treatment;' "
but as finalh- amended it "went no further than asking Her Ma-
jesty's government to take into consideration the formation of
some practical ])lan for the establishment of closer commercial
relations. ' '*''
Before the Third Colonial Conference, which met at the time
of the Queen's Jubilee in 1897, Mr. Chamberlain proposed the
formation of an Imperial Council, to which the government of each
part of the empire should send an official representative. This
proposal the colonial ])remiers flatly rejected, expressing them-
selves, bv resolution, as l)eing of the opinion "that the present
political relations of the colonies to the mother country were en-
tirelv satisf actorv ; " Mr. Seddon and Sir E. N. C. Braddon raised
the onlv dissenting voices. On commercial subjects, however, they
were not so entirely satisfied; and they recommended by resolution,
firstly, the denunciation by Great Britain of any foreign treaties
then hampering her relations to her colonies; secondly, the pre-
miers undertook to secure from their respective governments a
preference to the products of the United Kingdom.
Later Canada did offer the United Kingdom a preference of
25 per cent of her import duties; this offer the British government
accepted, and in return therefor denounced, in 1898, the com-
mercial treaties with Germany and Belgium. Canada later in-
creased her preference to t,t,^ per cent, and she also took the West
Indian sugar industry under her protecting wing. No other tangi-
ble results came.
The fourth Congress of the Chambers of Commerce, in June,
icjoo. deserves mention only as producing a reaffirmation of its
previously assumed ])osition regarding the desirability and neces-
sity of adopting a ])olic-v based on the ])rinciple of ' ' mutual benefit,
whercljv each com])onent part of the empire would receive a .sub-
stantial advantage in trade as a result of its national relationship.'*
'- J. Van Siimiiier. "Mafjazine of Coiiiincrce," Sejjtember. 1903, p. ii>o.
'■' Ihi.l.
•Mt.i.l. ,.. iS..
Dcvclo foment oj Mr Chamberlain' s Fiscal Policy 117
The last conference of the colonial premiers was held in Lon-
don, in June, 1902. Mr. Chamberlain called this conference for
the purpose of discussing the political relations between the mother
country and the colonies, imperial defence, and the commercial
relations of the empire.*'" As Mr. Vince, Mr. Chamberlain's "right
bower. ' ' states the case, the project of federation based on the idea
of free trade within the empire was placed before the premiers.*"
A writer in The Naiioi of July, 1902, represented the discussion
of the tirst point, the political relations, as then ]jrogre.s.sing with
a marked reticence on both sides towards inaking any specific pro-
posals.*^ The premiers were reticent because they did not feel any
pressing need for discussing the matter then. As the\- had ex-
pressed themselves in 1897, they were satisfied with present arrange-
ments, and had no propositions to submit. Consequently thev
merely leaned back and asked Mr. Chamberlain what he had to
offer. He. likewise, had formulated the subject onlv in a general
outline, and not in any specific form.
The resolutions which were passed were in substance as fol-
lows :
1. They recognized that preferential trading between the parts of the
empire would stimulate and facilitate mutual commercial intercourse, and
by promoting the development of the resources and industries of the se\eral
parts, strengthen the empire.
2. That in the present circumstances, a general system of free trade
between the parts of the empire was not practicable.
3. Bvit to promote an increasing trade within the em])ire, it was desir-
able that the colonics shotild, as far as circumstances permit, give substantial
preferential treatment to the ])roducts and manufactures of the United
Kingdom.
4. The }iremiers lu-gi'd uijon the government of the I'Tiilcd Kingdom
the expediency of granting preferential treatment to the ])roducts and
manufactures of the colonies, either by exemption from or reduction of
duties then or thereafter imposed.
5. The premiers undertook to submit to their res])ective governments
at the earliest opportunity, the principle of these resolutions, and to request
thein to take such measures as might be necessary to give effect to it.
The attitude of the premiers toward the subject of jjolitical
relations may be judged by the fact that the subject was not even
'■"'"Review of Reviews." 2(). p. 35,;.
1'' Vince. "Mr. Chamberlain's Proposals. "
!^"The Nation," 75, •().
iiS The Atiuals of the American Academy
mentioned in their resolutions. In the second resolution they
decisively reject Mr. Chamberlain's proposition of intra-imperial
free trade; while the remaining three resolutions are in substance
mere repetitions of those of the two preceding conferences, and
quite plainly indicate that what the premiers want is an advantage
for colonial products in the markets of the mother country; for the
attainment of this end they are willing to grant to the mother
countrv some small advantages in their own markets. They did
not feel themselves justified in going to the full length of declaring
for aljsolute free trade within the empire, because they felt that
the immediate removal of all protective duties would greatly injure
the capital which has already been invested in the protected indus-
tries of the colonies. The approach to free trade must be gradual
in order that these interests might have sufficient time to adjust
themselves to the anticipated new conditions.
The recent Congress of the Chambers of Commerce which met
in London during August of this year need not hold our attention.
Although the discussion lasted for a number of days, the resolutions
as finally adopted were the same in essence and almost identical in
language with those of the preceding congress in 1900.
Several inferences may be drawn from this somewhat lengthy
recital of history. The first is, that the subjects of federation,
defence, and preferential tariffs are not new, but have been before
the attention of the outlying portions of the empire for many years.
Secondly, that the colonists do not in the main desire complete
separation from the empire; thirdly, that they do not at present
desire any closer political union of the parts of the empire than now
exists, and consequently any process of ■ cementing the parts of
the empire more firmly together is not likely to proceed along this
line; the colonists do not look with complacency or favor upon
any prospective change in political relations which is likely in any
way to deprive them of their present measure of local autonomy.
Fourthly, that the colonies, in so far as the expressions of their
premiers and trades bodies form an indication of their wishes, do
desire closer trade relations with one another, and especially the
mother country; and that the means they have in view by which
to attain these consist in most part of a customs arrangement
within the empire, l)y wliicli the ])roducts and manufactures of
each part shall have, in the markets of every other part, an advan-
Development of Mr. Chamberlain's Fiscal Policy 119
tage over similar commodities coming from foreign countries. In
other words, they want ''preferential tariffs."
The work so far has, comparatively speaking, been easy. But
when we attempt to ascertain Mr. Chamberlain's reasons for forcing
this subject before the attention of the British electorate at the
present moment, the task becomes more difficult. Mind-reading
is never an easy task for the uninitiated, and when the subject is so
astute a politician as is Mr. Chamberlain, it is especially difficult.
It might be said that the action of the colonial premiers in
rejecting his free-trade proposition and in undertaking to persuade
their governments to take immediate steps toward the adoption
of a " preferential ' ' tariff system has in a measure morally forced
him into this step. He has posed pre-eminently as the apostle of
imperial federation and the friend of the colonies, and when they
refused all his other overtures, nothing remained to him but the
present step ; yet twice before the colonial premiers have under-
taken to accomplish the same task, and no one in Great Britain felt
himself morally forced to do anything.
Indeed it is probable that not one circumstance, but, for Mr.
Chamberlain, a happy combination of circumstances, induced him
to open the campaign at the present time. The Balfour Ministry
was without an issue, and felt to be on the verge of dissolution ; and
it is conceivable that Mr. Chamberlain would not be averse to the
premiership if it were urged upon him. Great Britain's export
trade had been at a standstill for many years, and the exports of
manufactures to the principal strongholds of protection had been
falling off. The manufacturers had for many years endured the
increasing strain of foreign competition, and were being more and
more pinched by it, until they were ready for measures of relief; in
fact, when the country was about ready for a change to a protective
basis the insistent demands of the colonies for a preference in the
markets of Great Britain served as a convenient handle b\- which
to pull in the protective system under a less ofifensive name. But
if Mr. Chamberlain remained in the Balfour Ministry, and this
should go before the electorate with ])rotection, or as Mr. Balfour
terms it, "retaliation," as an issue and be returned to office, the
chances were good that not Mr. Chamberlain, but Mr. Balfour, would
reap the benefit.
As to the ex-Colonial Secretarv's chance of success in the
1 20 77k- Ainials oj tlic Anicrican Academy
present campaign, any prediction at the present moment must be
too conjectural to be worthy of much consideration. The Balfour
Ministry is not yet before the electorate, and it is tlifficult to foresee
every turn which may be given the issue. Mr. Chamberlain and
his fiscal scheme are apparently received with much enthusiasm
wherever he goes; but so are his chief opponents, and in the very-
same places. The Conservative organizations at Birmingham,
Greenock, Newcastle, and Glasgow adopted resolutions commend-
ing Mr. Chamberlam "s fiscal policy. But a few days later a
trades bodv in Birmingham condemned his whole scheme, express-
ing themselves as not desirous of exchanging cheap food for old-age
pensions. Mr. John A. Hobson, who has traveled all over the
United Kingdom interviewing the captains and managers of indus-
try, found scared V a manufacturer of importance in all Great Britain
who was not in favor of protection and Mr. Chamberlain. This
augurs success for the ex-Colonial Secretary, but no one will be able
to tell the result until it has happened.
Thomas W. Mitchell.
University of Penitsylvania.
FOREIGN RAILWAY EVENTS IN 1902-03
The newer and more remote parts of the world in which
industrial and commercial life is relatively little developed natu-
rally constitute the field in which the proljlems of railwav construc-
tion and development are among the leading questions of the day.
The greater part of Africa. Asia, Australasia and South America
lie in this field, to which parts of Continental Euroi^e. North and
Central America may be added. In countries like England.
Germanv, France and the United States, where railway develop-
ment is practically complete, at least so far as main lines are
concerned, the railway problem is primarily an administrative
problem, involving the more perfect adjustment of the various
interests in the matter of service and rates, and the establishment
and maintenance of a more rational modus vivcudi among the
dilterent carriers. In the former group of countries, financial,
political and military considerations predominate, while in the
latter these are generally subordinated to social and economic
interests, although in a certain sense economic and social inter-
ests may be said to exercise a controlling influence over transpor-
tation affairs in all parts of the world.
Last year's railway developments in Africa illustrate the
co-existence of all these classes of interests : social and economic,
in emploving the railways in the restoration of the territory devas-
tated by war. and in developing the mineral and agricultural
resources of both coast and inland regions; political and military,
in the order in which original construction, extensions and im-
provements have been planned; financial, in the importance
attached to the manner in which the necessary funds have been
raised, and the control of railway financiering in general; adminis-
trative, in the changes in railway management and in the re-
adjustment of relations among the different South African systems.
During Colonial Secretary Chamberlain's visit in South Africa,
few, if anv. subjects received more frequent mention than the
railway question. The clamor for lower railway rates as a means
of reducing the excessive cost of living became irresistible. It was
asserted that it cost less to transport certain commodities from
North America over 1.500 miles of railway and thence by sea to
[121]
122
Tlic Annals of tJic Anicricaii Acadauy
Delagoa Bay, than from Delagoa Bay to Johannesburg, a distance
of 396 miles. At a banquet given in honor of Secretary Cham-
berlain at Ladysmith. the governor of Natal, in a powerful speech,
admitted the necessity of a readjustment of the relations among
the different South African systems with the view of lowering
rates, and recommended the appointment of a non-partisan com-
mission to consider the questions brought forward b\- him. On
a similar occasion at Bloemfontein, it was officially announced
that in order to allay the fears regarding the deflection of traffic
from one colony to another as a result of contemplated extensions,
the earnings of the Transvaal and Cape Colony railways should
be pooled. The unsettled and unsatisfactory condition of South
African railway affairs is largely due to the conflicting interests
of the different colonies with respect to local and through traffic.
The reported appropriation for railway purposes of $65,000,000
out of the Transvaal loan, authorized by Parliament early in May,
is expected to remove many of the existing intercolonial railway
difficulties. The Bloemfontein conference recommended that all
private contracts reserve to the government the right of expro-
priation of all railway ])roperty, control of the cost of construction
and the profits of contractors, and the regulation of rates.
A request for a grant of /^6oo,ooo additional for the comple-
tion of the Uganda railway, bringing the total up to ^^5, 500, 000,
or about ;^9,5oo per mile, was the occasion of sharp debates in
both Houses of the British Parliament during Deceinber and
January. The Uganda railway extends from Mombasa on the
Indian Ocean, about 4° south of the equator, to Port Florence
on Lake Victoria Nyanza, a little north of the equator. The
entire line of 584 iniles thus extends through a tropical belt, the
greater part of which is said to be infested with malaria. Members
of Parliament charged the government with extravagance and
inefficiency, and demanded an explanation of the rejection of bids
of private contractors offering to construct the railway at one-
half the amount expended by the government. The government
justified the situation on the ground of unfavorable climatic
conditions, -excessive rains, scarcity of coal, and the importation
of labor from India. Furthermore, other powers were moving
in the direction of Uganda, and the future possibilities of the
British East African protectorate, it was argued, amply justify
Foreign Railu'oy Events in IQ02—0J 123
the government's policy. Since then the Uganda railway has.
been opened for traffic and the reported earnings amount to £3
per mile per week. There are two through passenger trains
weekly, connecting with two steamers built at Paisley, but erected
on the shores of Victoria Nyanza, and capable of carrying 12 first-
class and 100 deck passengers. Potatoes, which were formerly
imported into South Africa from Central America and Portugal,
are being shipped there now at the rate of 40 to 50 tons per montli
from the territory served l)y the Uganda railway. The cost of
transportation has been reduced along this route from 7.V. 6d. per
ton-mile, being the old caravan rate, to 2^d. per ton-mile by rail.
However, the government will probably be obliged to meet a
deficit for some years to come, on account of its Uganda enter-
])rise.
Before the close of 1903 the South African Chartered Com-
pany will have expended ^2. 000,000 for railway purposes, one-
half for the completion of the line from Buluwayo to Victoria
Falls, including a fine steel bridge over the Zambesi, and the
construction of three branch lines varying in length from 25 to
100 miles in contiguous territory. The other ;^i,ooo,ooo are to
be devoted to a continuation of the Cape to Cairo railway from
Victoria Falls northward to the great bend in the Kafu River, a
branch of the Zambesi, where valuable deposits of copper and
lead have been discovered. The supreme grandeur of Victoria
Falls is destined to make it a rival of Niagara in attracting tourists,
a fact of which the interested railway authorities have by no means
been unmindful. In the official report of his recent trip through
Rhodesia, the secretary of the Chartered Company, after com})aring
the 2,193 iTiiles of railway in Rhodesia with the 612 of Natal, 442
of Orange River, 895 of the Transvaal and 2,396 of Cape Colonv,.
remarks that these ' ' facts lead him irresistibly to the conclusion
that a new era in the history of Rhodesia has already commenced.
The railways have more than fulfilled my most sanguine expec-
tations, and their future is as.sured.
The British Gold Coast railway through Ashanti, with its
route through a tropical belt between 4° and S° north latitude,
is being constructed at the rate of 6 to 7 miles per month. This
road will be .126 miles in length with a gauge of 3 feet 6 inches,
which is the "standard South African gauge." The contractors
i:;4
The Aiiuals oj the Aiucrican Academy
at tirst had difficulty in securing the necessary labor, but since
they have won the confidence of the natives they have experienced
little difficulty in keeping up a force of laborers numbering 15,000,
whom they pay about 30 cents a day.
The labor question has reached an acute stage in all parts of
Africa. Lord Milner has asked for permission to import 10,000
Indians, to be employed exclusively in railway construction and
to be repatriated at the end of ten years. The limitations regard-
ing employment and repatriation are intended to overcome a
deep-seated opposition to "Asiatics" in South Africa. Secre-
tary Chamberlain expressed himself (July, igo3) as unwilling
to grant Lord Milner's reciuest until he could be assured of strong
local supi^ort in the undertaking. At a notable Boer conference
during midsummer, attended l)y representatives of all classes,
General Botha expressed the conviction that the labor supply of
the country was inadequate for its agricultural and industrial
development, and that it might become necessary to resort to
the importation of Asiatics.
While the British have done most to develop railways in
Africa, other nations have not been inactive. During the tirst
quarter of 1903 the German Reichstag appropriated 750,000
marks for the continuation of the Usambara line from Korogwe
to Mombo, in German East Africa. One member of the Reichstag
spoke in favor of the bill because he feared aggressive competition
on the part of the Uganda railway, the eastern terminus of which
is only 100 miles north from that of the Usambara line; another,
because the railway would open up other parts of Usambara
territory to agriculture and planting; and, a third member favored
the appropriation because he regarded the railway in the light of
an experiment which would prove whether the colony really had
any value. Traffic on this road has been ridiculously light. The
estimated receipts for 1903 are 156,700 marks, against expendi-
tures amounting to 346,682 marks, or a deficit of 189,982 marks.
The numl)er of colored passengers has been ten times the number
of whites, and the amount of paying freight one-eleventh of the
free freight in the form of materials for construction and govern-
ment supplies.
The governor of German Southwest Africa reports that the
most important (juestion in the protectorate under his charge is
Foreign Raikvay Events in i(jo2—oj
125
that of railway construction, and that railways must precede, not
follow, economic development in the colonies, a princitjle which
railway pioneers in the United States and Australia have long
recognized. In October, 1899, the German government and the
British South African Company entered into a treaty for the con-
struction of a railway connecting the Rhodesia main line with the
west coast, and more recently the Otavi Mines and Railwav Com-
pany has projected extensions without which, the German governor
says, the copper mines and marble quarries cannot be worked.
Late in 1902 an English syndicate secured the contract for
the construction of a railway through Portuguese West African
possessions, beginning at Benguella on the coast in latitude 13°
south and extending eastward about 870 miles. In Portuguese
East Africa the government has decided to build a new line which
will open up new coal fields and reduce the present shortest dis-
tance of 396 miles between the coast and Johannesburg by way
of Pretoria by 60 miles. The next shortest route is from Durban,
483^ miles, followed by the route from East London with 688
miles, from Port Elizabeth 715 miles, and, finally, from Cape
Town 1,015 miles.
On January i, 1903, the Imperial Ethiopian railwav was
-opened as far as Adis Harrar, 308 kilometers from the French
port of Jibuti. This is still 500 kilometers distant from the final
terminus at Adis Abeba, the capital of Abyssinia, a charter for
all of which was granted by King Menelek as earlv as 1894. While
the Italian invasion interrupted the work, it called attention to
the ''great potentialities'' of the country, and in Februarv, igoi,
the government of French Somaliland granted the Ethio]jian
company an annual subsidy of ;i^20,ooo for hfty \-ears. Various
opinions are current with respect to the ultimate economic success
of the enterprise. A correspondent of the London Times, who
passed over the route in the spring of 1903, describes the territory
traversed by the line as ''endless expanses of stones, of every
form and shape and color, gorges without water or verdure, vast
plains covered with scrul) and thorns, but neither trees, nor crops,
nor villages, nor signs of animal life, or, indeed, of permanent
insect life other than the innumerable ant-hills." King Menelek
has also promised Lord Cromer permission to connect the Soudan
with Uganda by means of a railway through A))vssinian territory;
126 The Annals of the American Academy
and plans for the construction of a line from Khartoum to the Red
Sea, via Suakim, following the caravan routes, have been elabo-
rated by Lord Cromer and the Sirdar.
Belgian authorities have sent engineers to Congo State tO'
do preliminary work on a line from Lake Kisali toward the
Rhodesian frontier to connect with one of the Cape lines.
It will thus be seen that in all parts of Africa the railway is.
wresting ground from the caravan and cart. Live calves carried
175 miles in sacks hung over the backs of mules; the camel and
the donkey and the two-wheeled cart as active competitors for
freight and passenger traffic will soon be things of the past. The
Cape to Cairo railway, like the mid-rib. of a leaf, joined with numer-
ous east and westward branches terminating in its ocean margin,
will soon carry over the whole of the once Dark Continent the life
of modern civilization and build up empires of wealth and culture.
No single enterprise has in recent years achieved greater
international importance than the Bagdad or Anatolian railway.
The first 90 miles of this gigantic project of 1.500 miles of railway
between the Sea of Marmora and the Persian Gulf were con-
structed by the Turkish government during the seventies of the
past century. In 1888 a German syndicate purchased the lines
as far as Ismid, and secured a charter for its extension. During
the next four years the line was extended to Angora, the seat of
the Galatians, to whom St. Paul addressed his epistle. In 1896
the main line was opened for traffic to Konia, and on July 27,.
1903, construction was resumed on the succeeding section from
Konia to Ereglia — the entire route being divided into sections of
about 200 kilometers each. Thus far the Germans have borne
by far the greater part of the financial burden, although French
capitalists have lent substantial aid. In their attempts to interest
English and other capitalists the Germans have met with unex-
pected opposition. Early in 1903 the British Prime Minister
stated in Parliament, in reply to questions, that no formal com-
munications between the British and foreign governments had
taken place, although the subject had been referred to in two.
brief conversations, one with the French, and the other with the
German Ambassador, about a year ago. So far as he knew, Mr.
Balfour said, these had had no "results," nor had these conver-
sations exercised anv influence. The remarks of the Prime Minis-
Foreign Railway Events in igo2—oj 127
ter called forth a debate of some length in the House of Commons,
in which the Bagdad railway was represented as distinctly a
German enterprise which would injure existing English railways,
and, in general, threaten English supremacy in the Persian Gulf.
Led by the London Times, English public opinion gradually veered
from ah attitude of solicitude for investment opportunities to
doubt concerning the whole project, terminating in strenuous
opposition to it. Conflicting reports were circulated regarding
the relative amounts of stock to be allotted to the different nation-
alities. Earlier reports gave France and Germany 40 per cent
each, leaving 20 per cent for all others; later it was said that
England, France and Germany were to receive 30 per cent each
and all others together only 10 per cent. Meanwhile the Times
continued its opposition, with the result that English capital was
made to feel that under no circumstances could it participate in
a project so prejudicial to legitimate British interests. England
was displeased because the head of the Deutsche Bank was elected
president, and the director of the Ottoman (French) Bank vice-
president of the Bagdad Railway Company. Provisions of the
concession were quoted to demonstrate the dominating influence
of the German and French. At Constantinople, it was related,
the London Times and Punch had been superseded bv Die Flie-
gcnde Blatter and the Kolonische Krentzzeitnng in reading-rooms
and hotels. French participation was explained on selfish grounds,
for her two railways in Asia Minor would be greatlv benefited
through connection with the Bagdad line. Russia, in the words
of M. Witte, regarded the project as a "serious affair, to which the
attention of all Europe ought to be directed, ' ' and maintained
an apathetic and even hostile attitude. ' ' If French savings are
engulfed in this bottomless pit," M. Witte is reported to have
said to the inanager of La Patrie of Paris, "if thousands of sub-
scribers are ruined, Russia will certainly be blained. " Russia
has been openly opposed to the Bagdad railway, and her Minister
of Finance regards it as a "dream which will never be realized."
Germany, on the other hand, says the thing will be done and in
the near future, too, whether English and Russian capital partici-
pates or not. The Porte has agreed to deliver to the company
4 per cent bonds to the amount of 261,110/. for each kilometer
of road, and the Germans can command the rest. The German
128 Tlu- Annals of tlic American Academy
press naturall\" regards all this opposition as unwarranted and
unjust, and as only another indication of English and Russian
dislike tor Germany. They characterize the railway as a great
civilizing agent. Knltnnccrk, in the benefits of which all nations-
niav share alike. They maintain that diplomacy has been re-
sorted to because in Turkey private interests must l)e backed by
diplomacy in order to receive considerate treatment, and that
Germany does not care to deal single-handed with the Sick Man.
The\' describe the Bagdad railway as a private financial under-
taking, international in character, in which foreign capital is-
invited to participate. And with the view of giving still ftirther
expression to the international character and the economic and
political neutrality of the enterprise, a Swiss city has been selected
as the seat of the principal office of the company. Antecedents-
for international projects of this kind, the friends of the railway
say, are found in the Danube and Sanitary Commissions, and the
Dette Publique. At all events it seems reasonably certain that
the entire line will be constructed, reducing the time between
London and Bombay to ii, and possibly 9 days, and gradually
restoring Mesopotamia to its ancient economic importance.
Everything that Rus.sia and England allege Germanv will
do by means of the Bagdad railway if she is given a free hand,
Russia has already accomplished through her Siberian railway.
Treaty ol)ligations bound Russia to evacuate Manchuria during"
the latter part of iqo2; but this "evacuation" consisted, in part,
of the removal of troops from temporary quarters into permanent
barracks erected on the right of way and on ceded lands adjoining
railway stations. The latter sometimes cover ten square miles-
for a single station, and "railway guards to the number of 30,000
or more are significantly called frontier guards." In addition,
Russia owns the steamers on the Manchurian streams which fiow
into Russian waters, and conseciuently she practicallv coiitrols-
all Manchurian waterways as well. M. Witte's report on the
importance of the SiV)erian railway urges a more careful and sys-
tematic use of the railway in promoting internal colonization, so-
that the annual increase of 1,500,000 in Russia's population may
be planted on the thinly po])ulated but immensely fertile lands-
of Siberia. Since i8q6 the railway has distributed about 200, coo-
people annually, i)ut this number should be greatly augmented.
Foreign Railway Events in igo2—oj 129-
says the Minister of Finance. Traffic in butter, fresh meat, fish,
fruit and other Siberian products has approximately doubled
during each year since i8gS. A writer in the Russian luononiic
Reinew presents statistics to show that the traffic over the Siberian
line must increase very greatly if it is to ])ay expenses. Passenger
traffic is likely to increase, partly as the result of a conference,
held in Paris in the fall of igo2,. and representing Russian-Chinese
lines, three French lines, Dutch, Belgian, German, Austro-Hun-
garian railways, one English company, and the International
Sleeping-Car Company. The conference considered matters re-
lating to through traffic to Dalny, Peking, Shanghai, Yokohama
and other places, and designated London, Paris, Brussels, Amster-
dain, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest and St. Petersburg as places where
offices for the sale of tickets to Oriental points are to be maintained.
The present time between the large cities of western Europe and
Peking is eighteen to nineteen days, and to Chinese or Japanese
ports from two to three days longer, thus shortening the time by
from thirteen to fifteen days, or about one month for the round
trip, compared with the time consuined before the Siberian route
was opened. The expenditure of some twelve millions of dollars
has been authorized for Russian railway extensions, and a power-
ful syndicate of Russian and foreign capitalists is projecting
numerous transverse lines to intersect with the Siberian railway.
Financially, the Russian system has not been successful, and the
estimated excess of railway expenditures over receipts has been
placea at 60,000,000 rubles, or $30,900,000, for [Q03. In a state-
ment reported to have been made before the Imperial Council,
the Minister of Finance ascribed this situation mainly to the
enforced construction of railways of a political and strategic char-
acter during the last decade. The construction of railways which
are of economic value, he said, need cause no apprehension, and
for a long time to come Russia will have to build several thousand
versts annually of this kind of railway if she will hold her own
against foreign competitors. ' " It is ((uite another question with
railways that are purely of political and strategic value, such as
the Novoselitz branches of the Southwestern Railways, the strategic
lines in Poland and West Russia, the Ussuri and Central Asiatic
railways, the southern branch of the Chinese Eastern railway and
others. These railways will not, for a long time, pay even the
130 The Annals of the American Academy
interest on the capital laid out in construction; some do not even
cover working expenses. ' " The minister of public works has
taken steps to remove the causes of the numerous complaints
entered in the "books of complaint" kept at stations for the use
of the traveling public, and to eliminate other evils in the admin-
istration of railways. The complaints relate to the time for opening
and closing ticket offices, untidy coaches, theft of hand baggage,
inadequacy of compartments for women, etc. Train robberies
are a common occurrence. Recently a passenger was drugged,
carried from the coupe which he had originally entered, into an
unoccu]jied one, and there he was robbed. Accounts have also
been published alleging the existence of gross corruption among
Russian railway employees. Higher officials are charged with
•collecting regular monthly payments from their subordinates, who
in turn exercise a free hand in reimbursing themselves, much after
the fashion of certain miCtropolitan policemen in the United States.
An influential railway journal finds extenuating circumstances
for this thievery in the starvation wages paid to many emplo^^ees,
but the real explanation it finds in the deep-seated notion of the
Russian people that there is nothing wrong in robbing the puVjlic
treasury.
The past year in the railway world of China was. what it will
probably continue to be for years to come, a period of international
rivalrv in securing privileges and concessions. The concession
granted in June, 1902, to the American-China Development Com-
pany, Rear-Admiral Evans, writing from the Asiatic naval station,
regards as ' ' the most important single interest we now have in
this section of China. ' ' This is a line about 700 miles in length,
between Canton and Hankow, over a route which Chinese traders
between the North and South of China have for centuries followed,
and along which numerous large commercial cities have grown
up. The company started with a paid capital of $3,000 000 in
gold, and is authorized to issue bonds guaranteed by railway
property to the extent of $40,000,000 gold, bearing 5 per cent
interest. The concession is for eighty years, when it reverts to
the Chinese government on payment of the market value of the
stock, but the government reserves the right to purchase it on the
same terms at any time after forty years. Efforts are being
Foreign Raikvay Events in igo2—oj 131
made to complete the railway in three years. The management
of affairs is entirely in the hands of Americans.
The German-Chinese Railway Company, embracing the
Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, and ten other strong German
financial institutions, was incorporated in Berlin with a nominal
capital of $2,500,000, for the purpose of financing Chinese state
railways. The Russo-Chinese Bank raised a loan of 40,000,000
francs in Paris for the construction of the Ching-Tai railway, a
western branch of the Lu-han railway, the trunk line between
Hankau and Peking in which French and Belgian capital is
heavily interested. . In June, 1903, the British government asked
China to grant to the Peking Syndicate railway a guarantee of
5 per cent on the same terms as had been granted to the Russo-
Chinese bank for the Ching-Tai railway. At the same time Eng-
land asked for ''favorable running powers'' over certain railways,
a share in the concession for the Yen-Pu railway, and ' ' preference ' '
in providing capital for the Hu-pei-Sze-Chuan railway in case
the assistance of foreign capital is required. In a word, the rail-
way problem in China is, to-day, primarily a question of maintain-
ing a modus vivendi between competing foreign capital.
A report of a special commissioner to the Secretarv of State
for India, published in March, 1903, condemns the present mixed
railway system generally, but not the men who do the work.
'"The present administration and working of the Indian railways
cannot be regarded as at all satisfactory. But I attribute this
more to the system than to any individual action on the part of
the railway or Government officers. ' ' The commissioner favors
the leasing of all state railways to companies. He recommends
that the control of Indian railways be vested in an independent
board, presided over by a member of the Viceroy's Council. He
urges cheaper fares and quicker traveling at lower rates, which
will add to the commercial and financial success of the railways
and increase the prosperity of the people as well as the popularity
of the government. Somewhat different in tone were the statements
made by Lord Hamilton when he presented the Indian budget to
Parliament. For many years, he said, the Indian railways had
been worked at a loss, but during the last three years there had
been a remarkable increase in the receipts. During the entire
period there was a loss of /^458,ooo, while in the latter a profit of
132 TJic Aiiuals of the American Academy
;^795.ooo had been realized, which was the more noteworthy
because the earUer railways traversed the richer and more densely-
populated territory, while later lines were laid through the poorer
districts, many of them cjuite as much for military as for other
reasons. ' ' We can count on the Indian railways producing an.
increasing source of income for years to come. ' ' During June,
1Q03. articles in the London Economist stated that although two
of the Indian state railways had suffered a serious decline in net
earnings, the others had fairly maintained their previous position.
Traveling of natives is largely for the ])urpose of pilgrimages,
attending religious festivities and fairs. The plague interfered
with these events, which resulted in an appreciable decline in the
revenues from third-class passenger trafhc.
Legislation providing for a great transcontinental railway
is the most important recent railway event in Australasia. The
transcontinental railway act was passed in November. 1902, and
bids for the construction of the line will be received until May 2,
1904. Americans are competing for the contract. The projected
railway extends from Oodnadatta, in South Australia, to Pine
Creek in the Northern Territory, closing the gap between Adelaide
and Port Darwin on the south and north coasts respectively.
The existing line between Adelaide and Oodnadatta is 688 miles
in length, and that from Port Darwin to Pine Creek i45-| miles,
which, together with the projected connecting line of 1,200 miles,
will bring the total up to about 2,000 miles, or approximately
equal to the distance between the head of Lake Superior and the
Pacific coast. The road will be built on the land-grant plan, the
amovmt of the grant not to exceed 75,000 acres for each of not
more than 1,200 miles of road, in alternate blocks on either side
of the railway. The gauge of the new road is to be 3 feet 6
inches, this being the gauge for over 8,000 miles of existing Aus-
tralasian railways, while over 3,000 miles have adopted the standard
gauge of 4 feet 8^ inches, and nearly 4,000 miles have a gauge of
5 feet 3 inches. The Australian transcontinental line will probably
co-operate with the Siberian line in competing for traffic with all-
ocean routes.
Of supreme importance from a political and social point of
view was the Victorian railway strike of May, 1903. The Victo-
rian railwavs, like those of the rest of Australasia, are owned and
Foreipi Railway Events in igo2—oj 133
operated by the state, and this strike in its last analysis involved
the (juestion whether organized labor could rebel against the power
of the state. A firm Premier strongly supported by his colleagues,
backed by public opinion, promptly asserted the sovereign power
of the state and the supremacy of the laws of the land over the
rules and acts of labor unions. The attitude of the government
was essentially similar to that recently maintained by President
Roosevelt in dealing with the government printers at Washington.
There are those who believe that if the Victorian government had
been in the hands of weak men. the result might have been disas-
trous to the government.
In South America, the Transandine j^roject plays the role of
transcontinental railway. The termini are Buenos Aires and
Valparaiso, and, when completed, will reduce the time between
these two cities to forty-eight and possibly to thirty-six hours.
The Argentine section of the line is completed to within 200 metres
of the point where the Andean tunnel is to begin, but it may be
several years before the Chilian section will be ready, although the
present terminals are only a day's journey apart. The geography
of the country has made Chilian railway progress in general diffi-
cult. The longitudinal extent of the country is 2,629 miles, with
an average width of loi miles. "Chili at the Pan-American
Exposition," 1901, records 1,430 miles of private and 1,420 miles
of state railways. The government is aiming to develop a strong
longitudinal line running north and south with transverse branches
connecting it with the coast.
Consolidation has been the most important movement in
Argentine. According to La Prcnsa of Buenos Aires all the
broad-gauge railways of Argentine, embracing eight companies
with a total mileage of 6,300 and $350,000,000 capitalization in
gold, are to be combined. Important consolidations have already
been effected, and only time can tell whether the entire program
will be completed. The Argentinian railways have experienced
difficulties similar to those frequently encountered by our western
roads during crop-moving seasons, especially the last; and the
Board of Ways and Communications has established ofBces in
each of nine different agricultural regions for the purpose of
investigating complaints. A government inquiry attributed the
134 The Annals of the American Academy
delays in grain shipments chiefly to the inadequacy of terminal
facihties rather than a deficiency in rolhng stock.
Brazil purchased over 2 ,000 kilometers of guaranteed railways
by the issue of ' ' Railway Guarantee Rescission Bonds, ' ' effecting
an annual saving in interest charges of ^(^247, 550, this being the
difference between the interest on the bonds and the amount of
the former guarantee. In addition, it is estimated that leasing
the acquired lines will yield ;^i 25,000 more.
Bolivia and Argentine entered into a convention for the con-
struction of a line from Jujuy, about 125 miles south of the boundary
line between the two countries, into Bolivian territory. For the
present, Argentine will construct and own also the Bolivian section,
but the latter country reserves the right of repurchase under
specified conditions. Another convention between Argentine,
Bolivia and Chili governs the through passenger traffic. Bolivia
has constructed its first state line from Lake Titicaca, said to
be the highest navigable body of water in the world, to La Paz, a
distance of 57 miles.
The Colombian National Railway Company has already com-
pleted 86 of the 316 miles of railway between Bogota and Buena-
ventura on the Pacific, a route which, it is expected, will largely
supersede the customary avenue of approach to Bogota, from the
Atlantic side, by way of the Magdalena River and three short rail-
ways. Both routes are important and the Isthmian Canal is
likel}- to greatly enhance their value. The Colombian government
gives liberal land grants and devotes 10 per cent of its customs
revenues to railway purposes.
The governor of a northeastern province of Peru, a famous
explorer, has discovered the possibility of a more northerly railway
across the Andes, and plans are well under way for the construc-
tion of a road which will connect the Pacific with the Amazon.
From the Manseriche Falls of the Amazon a line is also to be ex-
tended southward to Cerro de Pasco, in central Peru, from which
a railway is now in process of construction to Oroyo, about too
miles northeast of Lima. Important electric lines have been
projected in Peru. Two companies have secured concessions for
sixty-six years, freedom from taxation, and free importation of
materials for two years. At the end of sixty-six years all the
property is to revert to the government free of cost.
Foreign Railway Events in i(ju2—oj 135
Having taken a survey of recent railway events in the less
developed areas of the earth, it will now be in order to remark
briefly concerning the more advanced countries, beginning with
England, the home of the first important railway enterprise.
English railway management has been much criticised of late
because of the lack of adequate statistics as a basis for the most
successful operation, and also because of adherence to anti-
quated types of cars and locomotives. A competent Continental
European critic has recently characterized English railway statistics
as the poorest of any in the civilized countries of the world. Rigid
attention to statistical expression of every detail of the business,
the employment of statistical units like the ton-mile for cost and
the train-mile for revenue, as a touchstone of successful adminis-
tration, which have made the great success of many American
lines possible, are practically unknown in England. The extraor-
dinary economy in operating vast systems like the Hill lines
may be attributed largely to what may be called a statistical
consciousness of every branch of the service in its remotest details.
Minority stockholders of English railways have made formal pro-
tests against antiquated methods, and railway publicists like
Acworth and Paish have revealed the situation in its scientific
aspects. The recent increase in dividends on common stock has
been attributed largely to improved management. The "Ameri-
canization ' ' of English railways is regarded as an impossibility
by officials, who emphasize the important differences between
English and iVmerican traffic, characterizing the former as ' ' retail
and the latter as ' 'wholesale' ' business. Because of the smallness
of the "average" load of freight, large cars of twenty to fifty
tons capacity, which are constantly increasing in number on
American roads, are regarded as impracticable and expensive;
and the experiences of English roads with cars of twenty tons
capacity are cited to prove the point. A distinguished American
railway expert thinks that the inferior size of the heavy stone
arches, which would not admit of the passage of forty-ton cars and
coiresponding locomotives, is the greatest obstacle to the intro-
duction of the American type of equipment. However, calcula-
tions have been made which show that the freight carried in 458
ordinary London and Northwestern cars could be carried in 322
thirtv-ton American cars, but that the tare weight would rise to
136 TJic Annals of the American Aeaileniy
4,66q tons as compared with 2,199 tons for the English equipment.
In other words, considering the retail nature of the English traffic,
the expense of terminals, and the custom of railway delivery of
freight, a gradual modification of existing equipment with the
view of increasing paying loads is preferable to the substitution
of American types of equipment and methods of managemrent.
At least, that is what the majority of English officials are saying.
French railway statistics, too, have been under fire. While
thev exhibit definite facts regarding the quantity of traffic, revenues
and expenditures, they fail, in the estimation of their critics, in
revealing the true financial situation. As is well known, the French
government, by the terms of the ''conventions"' of 1883, pays
heavy guarantees and subsidies to her railways, although when
the conventions were drawn glowing prospects of handsome profits
to the state were held up to view. Only one of the great railways
has paid anything, and that an inappreciable sum. to the state
as its share of the net profits, while the aggregate indel)tedness
of four of the companies, January i, 1901. was nearly one thousand
millions of francs. The debates in the Assembly on the budget
gave indication of an awakening of puVjlic opinion in regard to the
railway question, and in the not distant future it may become a
topic of intense discussion. The labor leaders ha\'e charged the
minister with opposition to the ' ' syndicates' ' of railway employees,
as well as with inefficiency and mismanagement. Tlie labor
question was injected into the debate partly as a result of the
railway strikes in Belgium and Holland, and the declaration of
the Prussian minister of pviblic works that n(j employee can be a
social democratic agitator and retain his position, tliat linal
authoritv cannot at the same time reside in labor unions and in
the minister, and that as long as he was minister, authority shall
remain in the de])artnient of ])ublic works.
Prussia, the classical illustration of an efficient system of
state railways. absorl)ed six more private companies during the
year, o])erating about 570 miles of road. This leaves only al)out
1,312 miles of primary and secondary railways still in private
hands. Of the six newly acquired lines, four are secondary roads,
lying in less <leveloped agricultural regions. The same causes
which have increased railway expenses in the United States have
operated similarly in Prussia, resulting in a slight decrease of net
Foreign Railii\iy Events in iij()2—(>j 137
revenues — the estimated decrease for igo3 is $11,186,000 — but
still yielding a clear surplus of about $130,000,000, or nearly 6^
|)er cent on the investment. Ainong the advantageous changes
introduced during the year, the minister enumerates the declassifi-
cation of a large number of commodities; reductions in rates on
ores, coke, fertilizers, cattle and agricultural imj)lements; special
export rates on iron and steel; and arrangements for the jjronijjt
conveyance of cominodities endangered by early frosts. Multifa-
rious demands beset the railway manager in Prussia as elsewhere,
as the following (|uotation from the minister's address in the
Herrenhaus will show: "One person wants a new but unprotitaV.)le
road; another desires additional trains; another better upholster-
ing for second-class coaches; still another, new a])pliances, electric
light and what not. . . . The demands . . . are increasing,
but notwithstanding a reduction in rates is requested at the same
time. Those who deinand ' tariff reform ' always mean reductions.
No congress assembles but what its delegates request free
transportation, no Sangerfest but what the Sangesbriider think
they are entitled to free rides. This means that the cost of trans-
portation is thrown on the wrong shoulders; song does not belong
to railway administration
From a scientific point of view the most notable event in
Wiirttemberg was the attempt to arrive at the cost of service
in the passenger traffic. A protracted agitation and discussion
in the legislature of reforms in railway rates was the occasion which
prompted the renewal of an attempt which has hitherto been made
by others with little success. The reduction of the aggregate
passenger service to average trains was followed by an analysis
of the services of an average ' ' limited ' ' train with respect to train-
kilometers, axle-kilometers, occupied and unoccupied seats for the
different classes of coaches. Similarly, other classes of trains were
analyzed and the elements of cost in motive power, maintenance
and renewals, and miscellaneous items, reduced to corresponding
figures. The railway atithorities believe that this investigation
demonstrates the impossibility of lowering passenger rates without
throwing the burden of a deficit in this upon other l)ranches of
the service, and that future progress must lie in the direction of
quality of service rather than reduction of rates. The debates
on the railwav liudget gave evidence of grievances which members
13S The Am'ials of the Ajiiciicaji Academy
of the legislature feel towards Baden for alleged deflection of
traflic to Bavaria over more circuitous routes to the direct loss of
millions of marks to Wlirttemberg. Illustrations were given to
show that the arbitrary routes exceeded the natural ones by from
30 to 40 per cent in direct violation of the federal constitution
which commands the operation of railways as a uniform net-
work in the interests of the general traffic.
Saxony has experienced a year of agitation for "reform,"
both with respect to internal and through traffic, in which the
relation of Saxon railways to other systems is an important con-
sideration. There has been more or less talk concerning closer
affiliation with the Prussian and other foreign systems, not only
in Saxony, but also in Baden, Wlirttemberg and other states. Soon
after his appointment, the new Prussian minister visited the capitals
of the federated states for the purpose of promoting greater co-
operation among the railway administrations within the empire.
The predominant influence of Prussia makes an unreserved under-
standing with other administrations quite essential, but there are
no indications of a formal consolidation of the various systems
on account of financial as well as political reasons. Better volun-
tary co-operation is the only practicable plan at present. Ainong
the other notable events in the German railway world should be
mentioned the contemplated creation of a Bavarian department
of public works, and the quarter-centennials of the German ' ' Re-
form tariff" and "Tariff Commission."
The practical downfall of the original zone system marks a
turning point in the railway policy of Austro- Hungary. The zone
tariff of 1889 was "revised backward" in 1894 and 1896, and on
January i, 1903, radical modifications of the system were intro-
duced into the Hungarian tariff, which leave the term "zone
tariff" as a "name without content and without significance."
The wider zones of the original tariff were found to influence the
movement of passengers and the revenues of the railways unfa-
vorably, so two new zones were added and the width of the
first five reduced to 10, 5. 5, 7 and 13 kilometers respectively. This
makes it a zone-distance tariff, of which numerous illustrations
can be found in the United States, and which, with still greater
modifications and local adaptations, has been proposed for Sweden.
Distance is disregarded only beyond the 400 kilometer line, where
Foreign Railway Events in igo2—oj 13^
the traffic comprises less than i per cent of the total. Financial
considerations compelled Austria to advance her zone rates in
1892, 1895, and January i, 1903, the last advance being 12
per cent on primary, 6 per cent on secondary, and 3 per cent on
local railways. Russia's experiments with the zone system since
1894 compelled her to make advances in rates in April and Octo-
ber, 1902; and since 1896 Denmark has been trying a similar sys-
tem with the result that passenger mileage has increased 60 per-
cent, but an annual deficit in the railway budget of 141,000 crowns
has been incurred.
The Italian government entered into sixty-year contracts
with operating companies on July i, 1885, with power to terminate
the contract at the end of twenty-year periods, on two years'
notice by either party. Notice to abrogate existing contracts
was given by both parties on April 28, 1903, and the period inter-
vening before the expiration of the contracts on June 30, 1905,
will be absorbed in investigations and negotiations. The govern-
ment commission for the study of the railway problem hopes to-
complete its work before January i, 1904. Dissatisfaction with
present conditions is universal. Passengers coraplain of vexatious
delays and general irregularity. Shippers chafe under rates
alleged to exceed those of surrounding countries by 25 to 30
per cent, not to mention lack of cars and intolerable slowness
in speed. Railway . employees are discontented because the com-
panies have failed to live up to the terms of their contracts-
with respect to hours, wages and holidays. Lastly, the govern-
ment is dissatisfied because, contrary to the anticipations of 1885,
the state has not only received no financial benefits, but it has.
been compelled to make up deficits which, since 1895, have exceeded
$40,000,000 annually. This situation has naturally developed
three divergent views concerning the future of Italian railwavs.
The first party favors the introduction of a purely private svstem
of railways and the sale of government railway property to private
companies. The second advocates the introduction of a state
system like the Prussian. The third believes in readjustment
of the present contractual relations between the railway companies
and the state and a continuance of government ownership with
private operation, and the introduction of profit-sharing with
railwav employees.
I40 Tlh' Annals of the Atncrican Academy
The remaining countries of Europe may be passed over
"briefly. Sweden is perfecting plans for the introduction of
electricit\' on one of her railways as an experiment, in ac-
■cordance with the special report on this subject submitted to
the King in December. 1902. Experiments of this kind are l)eing
made in nearly all parts of the world, one of the most interesting
features of which is the operation of single motor cars as day
coaches or sleepers where the traffic does not warrant a regular
steam locomotive train or where such a train could only be operated
at a loss. Sweden is also trying the utility of advisory councils.
If the experiment is not satisfactory, the council will cease to
■exist in 1904 by the terms of the royal decree which created it.
The Ofoten railway, '"the most northerly railway" in the world,
■was provisionally opened in November. 1902, while the formal
•opening took place during July. 1903. in the })resence of royalty
and representatives of the domestic and foreign l)usiness world.
British capital persisted in constructing the road in order to supply
England with Swedish ore all the year round, which this railway.
Tunning into an Atlantic port, makes possible. Thus "the long
and severe winters of the Arctic are Ijeing conquered and the
Baltic winter defied." One of the two new railways opened in
Finland lies in the region north along the Gulf of Bothnia. Den-
mark is considering a reorganization of her railway administration
by the appointment of a general directory subordinate to the
minister of ])ublic works, composed of three persons representing
the technical, operating and traffic departments, respectively.
Nothing has been said about the new Canadian transcon-
tinental lines, because the facts regarding them are generall}'
known, and for ]jurposes of this essay, Canadian railway events
■can scarcely be looked upon as "foreign."
B. li. Meyer.
University of Wisconsin.
PERSONAL NOTES
Carlton College, Northfield, Minn. — Dr. Ezra Thayer Towne has been
appointed professor of history and political science in Carlton College. Dr.
Towne was born at Waupun, Wis., April i, 1873, and educated in the local
schools and the State Univcrsit}^ graduating with B. L. in 1897. From
1897-9 he was in the graduate school of the same institution, department
■of economics. Two years, i go 1-3, were spent in Europe, with one semester
at Berlin and two at Halle, where he received the Ph. D. His thesis was
"Die Auffassung der Gesellschaft als Organismus, Ihre Entwickelung und
ihre Modifikationen, ' ' 136 pp.
During the summer of 1898 Dr. Towne worked with the Charity Organ-
ization Society of New York City, and from 1899-1901 he was principal of
the High School at Sharon, Wis.
Harvard University. — Dr. J. Piatt Andrews,' who has been instructor
in economics in Harvard University since 1900, has been advanced to an
assistant professorship.
Since 1898. Dr. Andrews has published the following:
"What Ought to be Called Money f" Quarterly Jotirnal of Economics,
January, 1899.
"Indian Currency Problems of the Last Decade." Qtiarterly Journal of
Economics, August, igoi.
University of Indiana. — Mr. Mayo Fesler has been made assistant pro-
fessor of history in the University of Indiana. Mr. Fesler was bom at Mor-
^antown, Ind., November 19, 187 i, received his early training in the public
schools of that place, and his collegiate training at Depauw University, 1889-
90-91-92, and the University of Chicago, 1894 and 1897 (Ph. B., 1897).
From 1899-1903 he was fellow in history in the last-named institution.
He was a teacher in the Indiana public schools from 1892-97, and had
•charge of English and history in the Oak Park (111.) High School, 1897-99.
During the period of his fellowship in the University of Chicago he was gen-
eral secretar}'^ of the Alumni Association, and in 1902-03 he was secretary of
the Board of Recommendations.
Leiand Stanford University. — Dr. Harry Alvin Millis has been called
to the Leiand Stanford University as assistant professor of economics. Dr.
Millis was bom in Paoli, Orange County, Ind., and prepared for college in
the Paoli High School. He was a student in Indiana University from 1802-
96, receiving A. B. in 1895, A. M. in 1896. He was fellow in sociology in the
University of Chicago 1806-98, and fellow in economics 1898-99, receiving
the Ph. D. in 1899.
From 1 899- 1 90 2 Dr. Millis was reference librarian in the John Crerar
Library at Chicago, building up the departments relating to economics and
sociology. During the year 1902-03 he was professor of economics and
sociology in the University of Arkansas.
' See Ann.^i.s, vol. viii, p. sss, September. 1896.
[141]
142 The Annals of llic American Academy
The following is a list of his published works:
"Poor Laws of the Several American Commonwealths" (six articles) _
American Journal of Sociology. November, 1897; September, 1898.
' ' Tltc Law Relating to Tramps and Vagrants. ' ' Report of the National
Convention of Charities and Corrections, 1897.
"The Present Street Railway Situation in Chicago." Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, September, 1902.
Dr. Millis is a member of the American Economic Association, the
Chicago BibHographical Society and the Science Club of the University of
Arkansas.
University of Missouri. — Mr. Carl Conrad Eckhardt has become assist-
ant in history in the University of Missouri. Mr. Eckhardt was born Sep-
tember 6, 1878, in Toledo, Ohio, where he passed through the grammar and
high school. He attended German Wallace College at Berea, Ohio, 1897-
1902, Ohio State University, iqoo-igo2. receiving the degree of Ph. B. The
year 1902-03 was spent in post-graduate work at the University of Michigan.
Mr. Eckhardt is a member of the American Historical Association.
National Prison Congress of the United States was presided over in its
session of 1Q03 by Dr. Charlton Thomas Lewis. Dr. Lewis has had an
interesting and varied career. He was born in West Chester, Pa., February
25. 1834, entered Yale at fifteen, graduated in 1853, received the A. M. from
the same institution in 1859, Ph. D. from the L^niversitj^ of New York in 1S77
and LL. D. from Harvard in 1903.
Dr. Lewis was professor of languages. State Normal University of Illi-
nois, 1857-58; professor of inathematics. New York L^niversit}', 1859-61;
professor .of Greek, New York University, 1861-63; Deputj^ Commissioner
of Internal Revenue, Washington, D. C, 1863-64, and from 1869-71 he was
associated with William Cullen Bryant in the editorship of the New York
Evening Post. During this period he published "The Critical New Testa-
ment," a translation from the German; a "New Latin Dictionary'," a.
"Latin Dictionary for Schools," an "Elementary Latin Dictionary" and
a ' ' History of Germany.
In the field of sociology he has published and worked as follows :
The Influence of Civilization on the Duration of Life. ' ' Proceedings-
of the American Public Health Association, 187 i.
"What is nVong in Life Insurance? " National Review, 1877.
The Indeterminate Sentence. ' ' Proceedings of National Prison Asso-
ciation. 1899.
Dr. Lewis has held the following imjjortant positions:
Chairman Commission to revise Penal Laws of New Jersey, 1890-91.
Chairman of Commission to found New Jersey State Reformatory,.
1893-95-
Delegate of the United Stales to the International Prison Congress^
Paris, 1895.
President Prison Association of New York, 1898 to date.
President Charities Aid Association of New Jersey, 1892 to date.
Dr. Lewis is also a member of the American Academy of Sciences, the
American Mathematical Society and the Actuarial Society of America.
BOOK DEPARTMENT
Since the publication of the first edition of Professor v. Bohm-
Bawerk's " Gcschichte und Kritik der Capitalzins-Theorien" (1884), a copious
literature on interest has appeared. In the second edition (1900) much of
this literature has been subjected to careful analysis. The little volume
under review' gives a translation of the Appendix, which is devoted to recent
literature on interest, and a summary of the principal additions in the body
of the work. It will therefore serve as an admirable supplement to Professor
S.nart's translation of the first edition.
The most important part of this book is to be found in the chapters on
the Abstinence Theory, the Labor Theories and the Productivity Theory.
In the first of these chapters a vigorous attack is made upon the positions of
Marshall and Carver. The criticism of Marshall involves a subtle logical
analysis in which the great Austrian economist displays his wonted skill.
Marshall had committed hiinself to the views that interest is due to the
undervaluation of the future, and that it is compensation for waiting. These
two propositions, which look so much like two ways of expressing the same
thing. Bohm-Bawerk pronounces absolutely incompatible. If one is right,
the other must be wrong. The fomier assiimes that the future satisfaction
appears in consciousness in reduced proportions; the latter that its magni-
tude remains unaltered. Nothing seems more clear than that our author
has the logic with him — on first reading. On the other hand, further study
will probably convince one that Marshall is not so far wrong after all. The
criticism of Carver's theory is more convincing. On the face of Bohm-
Bawerk's statement of Carver's position, the fact seems to be established
that the latter writer's theory mistakes eifect for cause.
As to the labor theories, attention is given to that of Stolzman, who has
developed a curious and absurd theory that interest is determined by the
standard of living of capitalists, just as Mr. Gunton argues that wages are
fixed by the laborer's standard of life. Why Bohin-Bawerk should have
dignified so weak a theory by giving it serious attention it is difficult to say.
Nobody but its originator could possibly accept it. More iinportant is the
treatment of the productivity theory of Wieser. Economists have long seen
that Wieser 's theory is unsatisfactory, and that inuch of the argument by
which it is supported is hopelessly weak. No one, however, has pointed out
so clearly just where the fallacies lie as Bohm-Bawerk does in this chapter.
The volume closes with a cheerful view of the future of the interest con-
troversy. Whatever disagreements may still exist, the old fallacies can
' Recent Literature on Interest. By Eugene v. Bohm-Bawerk. Translated by William
A. Scott and Professor Siegmund Feilbogen. Pp. xliii, 151. Price, $1.00. New York; The
Macmillan Co., 1903.
[143]
144 7^'^' Aiuials of the American Academy
hardly be restoreil Id liU. Most men will in the future be compelled to hold
interest theories which are in the main logical. -
The title of Dr. Bolles' "Money, Banking and Finance"^ is a mis-
nomer. The book is an admirable general treatise on banking practice, with
a short introductory chapter on money, and a still briefer concluding chapter
on railway finance. The thirty-one chapters on banking present a view of
every principal phase of bank organization and of banking activity. The
author's method is largely descriptive, and includes the work of the incor-
])orated commercial bank, the savings bank, the clearing house, the loan and
trust company and the private bank. As a clearly digested treatise on bank-
ing practice it is well adapted to systematic instruction, and supplements the
existing text-book literature dealing with bank administration, bank account-
ing, banking history, doinestic and foreign exchange and other special sub-
jects of banking interest.
"Slpervision .\nd EnucATioN IN Charity,"* by Jeffrey R. Brackett,
will be found of great value by all who have occasion to study the develop-
ment of American charities. Beginning with a brief sketch of the work of
the earlj- pioneers, among whom were Edward Livingston, Dorothy Dix,
William E. Channing, the author writes in the second chapter of the estab-
lishment of the state and local boards. Chapter III deals with Private
Associations for Supervision of Institutions, as the New York and New Jer-
sey State Charity Aid Associations. Chapter IV is devoted to the history of
the National Conferences, such as the National Conference of Charities and
Correction, the National Prison Association and the American Medico-Psy-
chological Association. Other chapters deal with ' 'Local Conferences, " the
"Educational Service of Associations for Organizing Charity." "Academic
Instruction," "Training for Work," "Woinen's Clubs and Associations."
Dr. Brackett believes that there is much to be proud of in the develop-
ment of charity in the United States and thinks that the constantly increas-
ing attention paid to this subject by students within and without acadeiuic
circles augurs well for the future.
It is but just to say that Dr. Brackett is bearing his ])an in this work of
educative philanthropy, or philanthropic education, as one may prefer, in
his work as lecturer in Johns Hopkins University and as president of the
Department of Charities and Correction of Baltitnorc. The present study
is a worthy continuation of the series of books on American Philanthropy of
the Nineteenth Century whf)se earlier volumes have been mentioned in these
pages.
2 Contributed by Alvin S. Johnson, Ph.D.. Columbia University.
^ By Albert S. Holies. Pp. 3.?6. New York: American Book Co., 1903.
* Pp. 222. New York: Macmillan Co.. 1903.
Notes
145
Professor Gustav Cohn's volume on the "History and Policy of
Transportation ' '^ is a collection of essays written at different times through-
out the past fifteen years. All of them have already been published eitht-r
in periodicals or in government reports. The first three relate to English rail-
roads, the fourth to the history of pools and combines, the fifth to English
and American economics, and the remaining four to problems of transporta-
tion, especially in Germany. Professor Cohn has long been a recognized
authority on matters of railroad transportation; hence these essays will
command the attention of all those interested in this important aspect of
modern life. The general reader will first turn, however, to the essays on
Pools and on English and American Economics.
The problem of indvistrial combinations is thus described by the author:
What attitude should be adopted toward a process of development by
which a fundamental principle of our economic system — free competition —
is of its own force transformed into the precise opposite?" This question,
however, assumes an answer to the problem : ' 'What is free competition, and
why does it tend to destroy itself?' ' Professor Cohn therefore considers first
the attitude of economists with regard to free competition. Then he dis-
cusses the naturally monopolistic character of transportation, and considers
in detail the process by which monopolies arose in English railroad trans-
portation and coal mining.
The fifth essay, entitled " Present Political Economy in England and
America," extending over 12; pages, is the longest in the book. Particu-
larly encouraging to the American reader are the author's flattering remarks
concerning the scope and value of American contributions to economic litera-
ture, and his appreciative characterization of our leading economic periodi-
cals.
"The History of Coinage and Currency in the United States and-
THE Perennial Contest for Sound Money,"" by A. Barton Hepbuni, is
a general historical treatment of a subject that has been prominently before
American people since the adoption of the Federal Constitution. In fact,
the subject of currency and banking was one foremost in colonial thought for
a century and a half prior to the organization of the Federal Government.
Colonial experience, however, is scarcely more than referred to by Mr. Hep-
burn, one chapter only being given to colonial systems, and this confined to
the Revolutionary period as an introduction to the general work. In its
general plan the book is divided into three parts: (i) ' 'The Period Before the
Civil War," (2) "The Period from 1861 to 1890," (7,) "From 1891 to the
Present Day." In Part I an account is given of the coinage system and of
American paper cvirrency prior to the Civil War. Part II is devoted to the
United States legal tender note, the silver question, and the national banking
system. Part III contains an historical discussion of the silver contest of
^ Zur Gescliichte tind PoHiik dcs X'crkehrsii'cseiis. By Gii.stav Cohn. Pp. vii. 524. Price,
14 marks. Stuttgart: Ferdinand Enke.
* Pp. xiv. 666. Price, $2.00. New York: The MacmiHan Co. 1003.
146 The Annals oj the Anierican Academy
1896 and the reform act of 1900. Mr. Hepburn closes his account with a
general review.
In so far as the author treats of subjects which are not a matter of present
controvers}'^ (such as the coinage system, the establishment of the mint, the
early paper currencies, etc.), the historical perspective is clear and without
evidence of personal bias. The latter part of the book, however, while it
contains much historical data of interest and much that is characteristic of
the times, is strongly opinionated; in fact, the closing chapter, entitled "The
General Review, ' ' contains little else than the personal opinion of the author
with respect to present political problems. This character of the work may
be illustrated by direct quotation. Speaking of the United States Treasury,
the author says: ' ' In no other civilized country is there such an absurd gov-
ernmental interference with the ctirrency supply; affecting values, promoting
speculation, retarding business and disturbing the welfare of the people."
His final expression with reference to the national bank note is that "No cur-
rency based on bond security can be elastic. Bond security is not
essential to perfectly secured circulation." With respect to the character
of security to be used, the following may be quoted : ' ' The statistical history
of the national banks for thirty-nine years shows that a tax of f of i per cent
levied annually upon outstanding circulation would have produced an
amount of money sufficient to have redeemed the outstanding notes of
every bank that has failed, without recourse to bonds held as security or
other funds. With business certainty, a safety fund and a guarantee fund
involving onh^ a moderate tax can be provided which will make note issues
perfectly safe and sound. ' ' Again, the author strongly urges use of national
banks as depositories of public money.
While, therefore, the book is, in a measure, a contribution to our histori-
cal literature, the evident ptirpose of the author is to reach a conclusion with
respect to a present issue, and the ultimate use which he makes of all his his-
torical data is distinctly partisan, intended as propaganda in the conversion
of the public to his point of view. Judged from the motive of authorship,
therefore, Mr. Hepburn's book is not scientific history, but advocacy sup-
ported by historical illustration. It is a powerful brief in a case that is now
being argued before the political court of last appeal — the American people.'
"The Indians of the Painted Desert Region,"* by George Whar-
ton James, will be voted an extremely interesting book by every reader. The
interest aroused by the attractive make-ujj of the volume is held throughout
the descriptions of the Indian villages, Indian life and ceremonies, including
the snake dance of the Hopi, Navaho, Wallapais, and Harasupais. The
reader is taken from his accustomed haunts to regions where even the earth
and skies seem to belong to another world. He is told of the legends regard-
ing the origin of the Indians, of their struggle for existence in the inhospitable
•deserts, of the new problems due to contact with the whites, and of the ques-
' Contributed by Frederick A. Cleveland.
* Pp. xxi, 268. Price, $2.00. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1903.
Notes 147
tions concerning the fviture. All this is from the pen of one who has for many
years known these people and has witnessed many of their most secret cere-
monies. The book is written not in technical, but in good racy English, and
contains excellent'ilKistrations. It is designed to acquaint the general reader
with these little-known countrj^men of his, but it is more, for the existing
accounts of some of the tribes mentioned are few and scanty.
In "Famous Ass-A-ssinatigns of History,"' by Francis Johnson, we
have an appeal to sensationalism and a use of yellow- journal rhetoric in deal-
ing with historical subjects. Thirty-one assassinations are described, begin-
ning with Philip of Macedon, 336 B. C, and concluding with Alexander and
Draga of Servia, A. D: 1903. The author states in the preface that he has
included only those ^ases which led to important political results or which
left profound and indelible impressions upon the imagination of contem-
poraries and posterity. Among those who are thus honored we may nien-
tion Julius Cssar, Thomas a Becket, Rizzio, Darnley, William the Silent,
Wallenstein, Marat, Lincoln, and McKinley. President Garfield must suffer
the ignominy of exclusion because "his assassination rather grew out of the
morbid aberration of one diseased mind than out of the general spirit of the
epoch in which he lived.
The author informs us that the historical features of the epochs in which
the assassinations occurred are ' ' portrayed w'ith historical fidelity and strict
impartialitJ^ ' ' We must admit that he has impartially accepted many tra-
ditions which have long since been exploded; for example, the story that
Thomas a Becket 's mother was an Oriental, who had followed his father from
the Holy Land. As for "historical fidelity,'' there is scarcely a chapter in
the book which does not contain inaccurate statements. Mary Stuart was
not induced, "mainly through the influence of Queen Elizabeth of England,
to contract a marriage with Henry Darnle}\ ' ' Darnley was not an English
subject and he was not descended from a daughter of Henry the Eighth (p.
94). It is hardly correct to speak of the head of the Holy Roman Empire as
the "emperor of Germany" (p. 165). Students of American history will be
surprised to learn that John Wilkes Booth "had been among the lynchers
of John Brown and frequently boasted of his participation in that crime"
(P- 349)-
We should not advise the student to search the pages of this book with
the expectation of finding any information on the subjects of history or
criminology.'^
"The Negro Farmer"" is a short but valuable study of the rural
Southern negro, and contrasts favorably with the work done on the same
subject by the library experts of the Census Bureau. From columns of more
* Pp. xii, 434. Price, Si. 50. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1903.
10 Contributed by W. Roy Smith, Ph. D., Bryn Mawr College.
" The Negro Farmer. By Carl Kelsey, Ph. D. Pp. 7S. 25 maps. Price, 50 cents.
Chicago: Jennings & Pye.
1 48 The Aiiiials of the Avicn'caii Academy
or less accurate statistics the census expert endeavors to prove that the con-
dition of the negro farmer is better now than under slavery and that he is
nearly or f|uite the eriual of the white in efficiency. (See, for instance, (\>nsus
of 1900, vol. vi. jit. II, p. 4i(), and Census Bulletin. No. 155.) The author of
the monograph under review visited the Southern plantations and farms, and
by personal obserxation and intelligent (juestioning ascertained what the
census figures really meant. He treats the subject in six divisions: (i) the
geographical location of the negro po]nilation, (2) the economic heritage of
the race from Africa and from ser\itude, (3) present economic and social c(jn-
ditions, (4) social environment, (<;) the prospect for the future, (6) attetnpts
at indiLstrial training. Dr. Kelsey has closely ac<|uainted himself with the
economic situation in the South, and the best part of his work is that in which
he gives the results of his investigations in that section. When he returns
to his library authorities he is not so, successful. There are numerous
misprints; footnote references are seldom given, and when given arc not
specific; the illustrations ai'e good for a work of the kind. Twenty-five
instructive maps show the segregation of the black people into the most
fertile districts of the South. The more fertile the land, the more negroes
are there; and vice versa. Here he touches upon the greatest evil of
.slavery, from the white man's point of view— the tendency of that institu-
tion to drive the bulk of the white population to cheaper and less fertile
lands, leaving the best lands to the masters of blacks and ultimately to
the blacks. The discussion of the Black Belt tenant system is the best
that has appeared. The description of social institutions, — home, .school.
and church, — is perhaps too gloomy. Present conditions are bad enough ;
but, in comparison with those at the end of reconstruction, give reason
for hope. Much importance is ascribed to the work of such institutions
as Tuskegee and Hampton, and to the various cooperative improvement
societies. The value of the training given by slavery is recognized, but
the author accepts the traditional view that slavery was responsible
for the ruinous ante-bellum system of agriculture. In fact, the best
farming was done on the slave plantations: the worst where there were
few or no slaves; and tlie free negro has done worse farming than the slave
or the frontier white. The wasteful frontier system of agriculture is still
found in parts of the West and South among whites; the Black Belt can
hardly be said ever to have been in a frontier stage. Dr. Kelsey is hopeful
for the future of the negro farmer, thotigh he thitiks there is danger that the
present friendly sentiment of the whites will not continue, and that, more
and more, industrial efficiency will be demanded and negro laVjor will not be
preft-Trud as at present. Also, the whites are turning toward the cheap and
fertile Black Belt lands. If the negro will not work, he will ha\e to give way
to them. The question of the economic comijetition l)etween white and
black labor — "the battle of the loaf" — is barely hinted at. In conclusion.
Dr. Kelsey says: "The absolutely essential thing is that the negro shall learn
to work, regularly and intelligently. The lesson begun in slavery must
be mastered the negro must wrirk out his sahation, economic
and social. It cannot be given without destroying the very thing we seek
Notes I ^,f
to strengthen — character. This is the justification for the emphasis now-
laid upon industrial training. This training and the resulting character are
the prcreciuisites of race progress. ' ''-
In "Letters from a Chi.vese Official, "'•' written for English readers,
we have a comparison between the Eastern and Western civilizations and
ideals. The comparison naturallj', because of its autliorship, is decidedly
unfavorable to the latter. However, there is food for thouglit, and a dis-
passionate perusal will prove instructive to many. The official makes a
strong ])lea for the justice of the Boxer uprising, saying that there can be no
peace tmtil Westerners will learn that the difference l)etween our civilization
and that of China is no reason why we should regard the Chinese as bar-
barians. He maintains that we must treat China as a civilized power and
respect its customs and laws.
'■Britain and thk British Seas,"'^ by H. J. Mackinder, and "Central
Europe, ' ' by Joseph Partsch,''^ two volumes belonging to the Appleton Series
of the Regions of the World, reflect credit on their publishers and authors
for the fullness of description and for the perfection of the jiress and
map work. The books are indispensable to those who wish an accurate
knowledge of the causes of national industrial success tmder modern con-
ditions. Mr. Mackinder gives an account of the position of Britain and of
the physical peculiarities that have done so inuch to make England the center
of industry. The reader can appreciate the great influence England has
exerted on modern trade and industry as soon as he glances at the ma]« and
charts which fill the book. Its main value, in fact, lies in tlicse illustrations.
When they are comprehended the reading of the book is easy and its main
points are readily retained because they are so perfectly visualized.
Professor Partsch's book on Central Europe is the more valuable to
the students of economics because it deals more fully with the problems of
economic geography. There is a careful presentation of the physical features
of the region and of the geological changes that have produced them, but in
addition to this, much space is given to the discussion of economic problems.
The chapter of Economic Geography is a model of its kind, and from it the
readjr obtains the essential facts about the agricultural productions of Cen-
tral Europe and of the conditions under which each of the leading crops
flourishes. The maps show where wheat, rye, inaize, potatoes and sugar
beets grow and the relative importance of each in the various jjarts of Central
Europe.
From this book one sees the causes of the progress of the German emj^ire
and of the growth of German unity. The economic unity of the whole region
is apparent from the survey of its ])Osition and of the relations existing >>t-
'- Contributed by Prot. Walter L. Fleming, West Virginia University.
'■■' Pp. xiv, 75. Price, 50 cents. New York McClure, Phillips & Co., 100.?.
'^ Pp. XV, 377. Price, S2.00. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 100,5.
'5 Pp. xiv, 358. Price, S2.00.
150 The Auiials of the American Academy
twccn its parts. The political confusion that long reigned in Central Europe
delayed economic progress and gave an indisputable supremacy to England.
The armed peace of recent years has given to Germany a chance to utilize
her resources. In a single generation she has shown herself capable of an
intense competition with England and seems likely to force a radical change
in English industrial policy. For the first time two great nations arc strug-
gling for the supremacy on comparatively equal footing, and, barring politi-
cal complications that may give an undue advantage to one of the rivals, the
struggle must be decided by economic advantages.
The two books under review ha\'e a special interest because they present
the economic background on which each of these nations rests, and they
should be read together so that the relative advantage of each nation may be
apparent. The advantage apparently will lie with Central Europe when its
inhabitants can surmount the national and race antagonisms which now
se\'er them. When North Germany dominates Austria as she no\\- does
South" Germany, a natural economic unit will be created on a scale that
can only be matched by the resources of the great central plain of North
America. England cannot grow except through foreign trade. Germany
can, and therein lies a diflference which must steadily work in her favor.
To THE NfMEROUS "real" and "true" biographies Mr. Meredith has
added the "Real John Wesley,"'" in which he gives us some account of the
versatility of this many-sided man. An educator, he made some serious
blunders in the philosophy of education, but he did not mistake its end and
object, to reach and uplift the great mass of humanity. A devout student
of the Scriptures, he yet anticipated the higher critics. The theory of evolu-
tion he virtually propounded before Darwin. Occasionally he dipped into
politics, generally on the wrong side as we look back upon it to-day, but he
gave Old Sarum a hit and did not a little to stem the tide of bribery swollen
so much by the corrupting Walpole. It was the spiritual foices he called
into play, rather than the tirades of Burke, that saved the nation from a
rabid revolt like the French Revolution, a fact which secular historians are
now recognizing. Mr. Meredith has given us a readable, but hardly fasci-
nating account of the life of a remarkable man.
The eleventh volume of the second series of the Decennial Publica-
tions of the University of Chicago bears the title. "A History of the Green-
backs."" For this Dr. Mitchell has taken the brief period. 1862-65, and
has gone exhaustively into both the history of the legal tender acts and their
economic consequences; these subjects form the general titles of the I wo
parts of the works. In Part I, the history of the greenback has been treated
under the five descriptive sub-titles, ' 'The Suspension of Specie Payments, ' '
"The First Legal Tender Act," "The Second Legal Tender Act," "The
"By W. H. Meredith. Pp. 425. Price, $1.25. Chicago: Jennings & Pyc, loo.i.
"By Wesley Clair Mitchell. Pj). 16, 577. Published by The University of Chicago
Press, 1903.
Notes
151
Third Legal Tender Act," and "How Further Issues of Greenbacks were
awarded in 1864 and 1865."
Part II is involved in economic discussion. In this "The Economic
Consequences" are traced from such statistical data as are available with
reference to "The Circulating Medium," "The Specie Value of Paper Cur-
rency," "Prices," "Wages," "Rents," "Interest and Loan Capital,"
"Profits," "The Production and Consumption of Wealth," and the "Cost
of the Civil War. ' ' The statistical basis for economic discussion is fur-
nished in a voluminous appendix.
The historical part (I), covering 131 pages, is drawn from authentic
sources, by exhaustive and painstaking research: this portion must stand
as a recogn zed authority. Part II, while deserving of highest rank among
economic writings, is necessarily controversial in character, and the conclu-
sions reached may be subsequently modified by the author himself as more
data are produced. Dr.- Mitchell has shown fine discriminating jvidgment by
completely dissevering the historical from the polemic.
The late Mr. George S. Morisox'" who died July i, 1903, was mainly
known by his great work as an engineer, but those who were personally
acquainted with him knew him to be a man of unusual breadth of scholar-
ship. His mind was as clear and direct as it was keen, and -his ability to
grasp general principles was so great that his intellectual power commanded
the admiration of all who came in contact with him. Mr. M orison was an
exceptionally pleasing writer, and as he took a lively interest in education
he was called upon to make addresses on various occasions. In six addresses
made during 1895-96-97, Mr. Morison developed the thought that a new
epoch in the history of the world is being inaugurated by the ' ' manufacture
of power," by the substitution of mechanical for muscular force. The theme
is not new, but in the little book containing these addresses Mr. Morison
elaborated the thought in most delightful literary style and in a more sug-
gestive manner than it has been presented elsewhere. The chapters of the
book deal with Business, Capital, Government, Civil Engineering, the Uni-
versity, and Education. The book was put in form for publication in 1898,
but withheld by the author, who seems to have hesitated to publish a book
outside the field of his professional work. It was brought out by Mr. Mori-
son 's relatives subsequent to his death.
Mr. Frederic L. Paxson's "The Independence of the South- American
Republics ' '"' is a laudable piece of work; and timely, in view of recent ev^ents
in Panama. The book is a study in American foreign policy, directed chiefly
toward an analysis of the problems which arose in connection with the recog-
nition of the independence of the Spanish colonies in South America. The
•* The New Epoch, As Developed by the Manufacture of Power. Pp. 134. Price, 75
cents. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1903.
'*The Independence of the South American Republics: A Study in Recognition and
Foreign Policy. Pp. 264. Price, $2.00. Philadelphia: Ferris & Leach, icjoj.
152 The A)!iials oj the American Academy
wars waged for fncdDtn V)y tlii' \arious countries are treated briefly, but
witliout due perspective. Perhaps it may be pleaded that the limitations
of the work rendered this imperative. And it is to be lamented that the
author saw flt to tnnit Mexico and Central America from his discussion, for
it is not i)ossible to write a comprehensive account of the dijilomatic nego-
tiations which arose when the power of Spain in America was i)rostrate, with-
out taking into account Mexico. The book is the fruit of a good deal of
original research, and is to be welcomed; for our stock of Spanish-American
literature is all too nuagre.
"TiiK Pkkii. .\ni) tmk Preservatiox of the Home,"^ by Jacob A.
Riis, is thoroughly characteristic of that \igorous writer and agitator for
social reform. The jjresent book is not so original as some of his earlier
volumes, indeed in considerable measure it repeats what they contain, illus-
trations as well as substance. It consists of the Williain L. Bull lectures,
four in number, delivered early in 1903 before the Philadelphia Divinity
School. Mr. Riis attacks the slum, which he considers the arch-enemy of
the home, ably abetted, however, by the decline of family worship. He dis-
cusses the problem under the chapter heads, "Our Sins in the Past.' "Oiu"
Fight for the Home, " "Oin" Plight in the Present," and 'Our Or!]) on the
To-morrow." This book will be of particular value to those tmacfiuainted
with the writer's other works, but even his old readers are stimulated to
better deeds after a period of contact with so enthvisiastic and optimistic a
social reformer.
There are those who believe that civic improvements can be ap-
proached more successfuly froin the standpoint of the "city beautiful''
than from that of the "city economic" or the "city moral. " Such a one
is the author of "Modern Civic Art." "' This book is addressed to laymen,
to readers of advertisements, to those who are now annoyed by hideous
public buildings, by narrow and dirty streets, to those who feel the need for
open spaces and parks. The treatment is calculated not only to stimulate
a desire for a more beautiful city, but Avhat is more to the point, to inspire
a belief that the city beautiful is within reach.
A reviewer might find much to criticise with regard to the author's use
of English, his sweeping generalizations, the lack of sequence; but it is
probable that the book is both easier to read and more interesting for its
enthusiastic, conversational, almost intimate, style.
"School Administration in Municipal Government'"-- is a study
of the organization and general powers of school authorities in American
»Pp. 190. Price, Si.oo. Philadelphia: G. W. Jacobs & Co., 190.S.
-"' By Charles Mulford Ri)binson. Pp. iv, 3S1. Price, S2. so. New York: G. P. Putnam's
Sons, 100.?.
^ By Frank Rollins, Ph. D. Pp. loO. Price, 75 cents. Columbia University Studies in
Philosophy, Psychology and Education. New York: Macmillan Co., 1902.
Notes 153
cities. The conclusions regarding the l)est form of organization follow those
of the committee of tifteen of the National li(lueati(jn Association and the
plans advocated by the more advanced exj)ert opinion in this held, namely,
that a small board of not more than five or six, appointed by the mayor, is
the best form of authority. Especial emphasis is also laid upon the work
of professional experts in school administration as contrasted witli that of
unpaid, honorarj'- officials. The author also contends that every class in
the community should take part in the educational system, either by gifts
of books, pictures, statuary, scientific apparatus, or by some assistance in
making the school an evening social center.
"The S]iip of St.\te by 'I'hose .^t the Helm"-^ is a series of interest-
ing articles originally written for younger readers and now offered as se])a-
rate chapters of a popular book on the national government. The articles
are by prominent public officials, but are so general in character as to have
little permanent value.
The DEDic.'iTioN OF Rosexberg's "Mazzini; The Prophet of the Reli-
gion of Humanity. ' '-^ to Jane Addams of Hull House, and the manner of
eager loyalty with which the author presents Mazzini, indicate the vital
interest which many social workers take in the propaganda of the Italian
idealist-reformer. As the poetic exponent of brotherhood, they turn to
hi n for stimvihis, and his influence is continuous.
The author admires him as a pre-eminent humanitarian who cliafed
under the teachings of ctirrent dogmas concerning future rewards and jjun-
ish.nents, holding that ' ' the discovery of a new relation — that of the indi-
vidual to humanit}- — may lay the foundation of a new religious bond ' '
which should bring about the immediate earthly betterment of man. But
a religion is a grave necessity, because in everj- epoch the earth has tended
to conform itself to the heaven in which it then believed.
■•'He was not a single man," exclaims the author; "he was, he is. an
epoch, a chapter in history!" Vet he was not a great writer, concludes
Mr. Rosenberg, not a great philosopher, not a great economist, not e\en a
great statesman, and though, like most pro])hets. he was not practical, and
was somewhat obstinate, yet he spoke with such elotjuence. earnestness
and devotion that we cannot remain indifferent.
We read him little and understand him slightly because we are at present
in a period of transition: but when we shall have passed through it. we will
estimate more truly the religious conce]>t (jf the great cosmopolitan.
^ By Theodore Roosevelt and others. Pp. 21)4. Price. 75 cents. Boston: Ginn &
Co.. 1903.
-^ By Louis J. Rosenberg. Pp. So. Price. 50 cents. Chicago; Charles U. Kerr & Co.,
1903.
154 The Annals of the Anieriean Academy
"The Political History of Slavery,"-^ by William Henrj' Smith,
is not a scientific history of the institution slavery, but rather a history of
politics in the United States from 1830 to 1870, written according to the
method of the old-fashioned school of didactic historians. The work is one
of very uneven merits. The early chapters are the unsuccessful work of a
journalist turned historian. Dealing as he does with the period already
covered by Rhodes and Burgess, and having much their point of view, the
onlv contribution which the author makes is in showing the importance of
Ohio and her leaders in shaping anti-slavery sentiment and policy; for in-
stance, Brinkerhoflf 's authorship of the Wilmot Proviso and Corwin's influ-
ence as a Whig leader in 1848 and afterward. There are occasional mis-
statements of fact; for instance, that John Brown's raid "met with universal
condemnation" in the North. In the Civil War period Mr. Smith gives a
rather unsatisfactory, conventional treatment, though he makes excursions
from the usual course here and there to describe the Brough campaign in
Ohio with much detail, to praise Chase's financial administration as the verj"-
acme of perfection, and to paint Vallandinghain 's ' ' treason ' ' in the blackest
of colors. The really valuable part of the work is confined mainly to the
chapters on Reconstruction. Here the author writes from his own recol-
lection, assisted by well-chosen documents. His account of the presidential
campaign of 1868 is particularly valuable. The work is concluded with a
chapter from the pen of John J. Halsey upon the "Failure of Reconstruc-
tion." This chapter deals in numerous generalizations, some of which are
of doubtful validity. The chapter makes no contribution to knowledge.
Mr. Smith and Mr. Halsey have each written from the same half-liberal
Northern point of view. The one condemns the abolition agitation, but is
far from approving the Southerners' aggressive protection of their vested
rights; the other censures the reconstruction polic}^ of the radical Republi-
cans, yet fails to justify the Southern whites in .their disfranchisement of the
illiterate black masses when at length the opportunity^ was oflfered.
Mr. Smith 's work would have been welcome as a magazine article upon
Ohio's influence in the anti-slavery movement and a thin volume upon
reconstruction. But as a work in two large volumes it has no justification.
The question arises whether more than enough for the present has not already
been published upon the ' 'political history of slavery. ' ' What justification
can there be for threshing over the same straw in the same old way and with
the same old flail? An economic history of slaver}% or an economic inter-
pretation of its political history, would be of much value; but a new political
history as such, with no spark of genius to enliven it, is a weariness.'"
"Administration of Dependencies,"" by Alpheus H. Snow, is an
admirable discussion of the principles of colonial government of France,
2-' A Political History of Slavery. By William Henry Smith, with an Introduction by
Whitelaw Reid. In two volumes. Pp. iv, 456, and xvi, 350. Price. S4.50. New York:
G. P. Putnam's Sons, i()o,(.
* Contributed by Ulrich B. Phillips. Ph. D.. University of Wisconsin.
^ A Study of the Evolution of the Federal Empire, with Special Reference to American
Colonial Problems. Pp. vi, 619. Price, S3. so. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
Notes 1 2 r
England and America, with a view to showing the extent to which these
principles were already clearly defined and generally accepted at the time of
the framing of the American constitution. The author has been at great
pains to examine all ihe more important data dealing directly with his thesis
and exhibits throughout a fairness and desire for historical accuracy which
inspire confidence. In conclusion, a good summary is given of American
judicial decisions, including a number of the latest opinions of the Supreme
Cotirt dealing with the constitutional status of the new dependencies.
Ix "How George Rogers Clark Won the Northwest,"-* Mr.
Thwaites has collected eight papers, the majority of which ' 'were first deli\'-
ered as lectures, and later, in a modified form, were printed either in popular
magazines or in the Wisconsin Historical Collections. ' ' They are here ' 'radi-
cally revised and brought down to date'*' (page vii). The subjects range
from the familiar event suggested by the title page to matters of antic|uarian
interest in the stories of Mackinac and La Pointe. The account of George
Rogers Clark is spirited and sympathetic. Mr. Thwaites finds it necessary
to reject the most picturesque incident usualh' associated with the capture
of Kaskaskia. ' ' But I almost wish it were true, ' ' he adds regretfully, ' ' for
our often sombre Western history seems to need now and then a lurid touch
like this' ' (page 50). The most extended and perhaps the most valuable of
the papers is that devoted to the Black Hawk War. Mr. Thwaites presents
an authoritative and, in important respects, a new version of the tragic epi-
sode. It is not a chapter to stir the pride of the white man. "Gross mis-
management, bad faith, and sheer heartlessness, " it is declared, character-
ized his part in the contest (page 1 98) . One paper treats of the division of
the Northwest into States. Another supplies notes for a study of early lead-
mining on the Upper Mississippi. Still another records impressions of a day
on Braddock's road. The \-olume closes appropriately with an appreciative
sketch of Lyman Copeland Draper and the Draper manuscripts.
The proofreader has allowed a few obvious errors to escape his attention.
"January" for "February" (page 48), "south" for "north" (page 93), and
"1823" for "1833" (page 194)- are examples. The statement concerning
land claims under the Pennsylvania and Virginia charters (page 5) seems to-
need slight qualification and there are some variations from generally accepted
dates for which one would be glad to have authorities cited. The introduc-
tions to two of the papers (pages 75, 231) suggest a method of approach less
felicitous than that ordinarily employed by the author. The important
thing to record, however, is that we have here an admirable little book in a
field not too much exploited by competent historians.
"The Story of R.-vpid Tr.\nsit, ' '-' by Beckles Willson, is a chatty nar-
rative intended for such readers as are interested mainly in the curious and
2* By Reuben Gold Thwaites. Pp. 37^. Price. Si. 20. Chicago; A. C. McClurg & Co..
1903
^ Pp. 204. Price, Si. 00. New York: D. Ar);)Un m & Co., 1903.
156 TJic Annals of the American Academy
wonderful facts of transportation. 'I"hc "story'' is incomplete, and the
author has but slight appreciation of the relative importance of the facts
presented. There are ten chapters, dealing respectively with the mail-coach,
the first railways, steam navigation, the development of the railway, the tele-
graph, aerial navigation, the cable and telephone, the bicycle, motor car-
riages, and street railways.
Recent years have seen a marked improvement in historical text-
V>ooks, but few. if anj', are better entitled to recognition than "The British
Nation."^ by Professor Wrong, of the Univcrsit}' of Toronto. It is a com-
pact book of 600 pages, well supplied with maps, indexes, genealogical
tables, etc. There are 291 illustrations, many of which are new and interest-
ing and helj) to illumine the text. The tit,le suggests the general view-point
of the diUhor, viz., that of Britain as the representative of many states,
linked together by the sea, and Vjuilt up and defended by her steadily growing
sea-power. Following the lead of Green in his ' 'Short History of the English
People, ' ' and the marked tendency of our times. Professor Wrong gives one-
third of the chapters to the social and industrial life of the people. These
are often the most interesting parts of the history, and are free from the just
<:riticism that might be passed on the chapters treating of political develop-
ment, in which names and facts often are so crowded together as to consti-
tute a real difficulty for immature students, — especially American students
who have not grown up in an English atmosphere. (Cf. p. 207, "Lord
Scropc, a relative of the archbishop executed by Henry IV, joined the Earl
■of Cambridge, the grandfather of Edward IV, who was to depose Henrj^'s
son, in a plot to put the young Earl of March on the throne. ' ') The space
wisely given to social life increases the task of bringing the political history
within the remaining pages, but makes it imperative to sacrilice the less
important events in order that the more important may stand out clearly.
In early Scottish history, the author has followed the traditional English
view, and fails to make clear the distinction between the feudal \'assalage
which the Scottish kings owed for lands in England, and the vassalage \\ hich,
under Henry II and Edward I. they owed for the kingdom of Scotland.
The history is treated bj' reigns, but these are grouped into ]K"riods,
accompanied by a chapter on the civilization of the period, which gi\es unity
to the work. Each chapter is prefaced by a statement of the general sitvia-
tion in Europe, and closed by a summary of dates in narratixe form — the
ty])e indicating the relative importance of events.^'
* The British Xalion. By George M. Wrong, M. A.. Professor of History in tlie University
of Toronto. Pp. 600. New York. D. Appleton & Co., 1903.
31 Contributed by Charles Truman Wyckoff, Ph.D.
The Adjustment of Wages
157
The Adjustment o) Wages. A study of the iron and coal industries in Great
Britain and America. By W. J. Ashlky. Pp. xx, 362. Price, S4.00.
London and New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1003.
In this book Professor Ashley has brought together eight lectures which
were delivered at Manchester College, Oxford, during 1903. The .special
interest of the volume for the American reader lies in the author's discussion
of the development of the United Mine Workers' Organization, tlu- very in-
teresting account of the several conflicts in which they engaged with their
employers, and the resulting growth of the principle of conciliation and arbi-
tration. His discussion of the anthracite problem is also of particular interest
to the American reader. In addition to a review of the experience of Great
Britain in arbitration and conciliation in the iron and coal trades, where he
offers little that has not already been fully discussed bv such writers as thi-
Webbs, Professor Ashley presents some interesting conclusions. His argu-
ment is, on the whole, in favor of the principle of the sliding scale. He holds,
with the liituminous operators of the United States, that it is far better for
masters and men to work in harm on}', and thus to profit at the expense of the
consumer, than to bring about a system of wage payment which opens the door
to unrestricted competition, and allows the consumer to profit at their ex-
pense. This point of view is very fully illustrated by the experience of both
England and America. The recent course of e\-ents in the anthracite trade
bears out the soundness of Professor Ashley's conclusions. By the award of
the Anthracite Commission the scale of wages, based on the amount mined,
is placed on a level of approximately fifty cents higher than that which prv-
vailed before the strike of 1900. As a restilt the operators are forced to limit
production and thus to maintain prices. It is true that the limitation of out-
put, no matter what the agreement with their laborers may be, is to the oper-
ators' interest, and they have attempted to follow this plan in former years
by mutual agreements, all of which, however, have broken down until re-
placed by the community of interest principle which now dominates their
policy. It may be questioned, however, e\-en with the close financial alliance
which now prevails among the leading anthracite companies, whether they
could maintain restriction agreements were it not for the iniperati\'e neces-
sity which a wage rate fixed for three years and based upon the price of coal
imposes upon them. The recent revelations in the building trades of alli-
ances between the union and the contractors offers further proof of the sound-
ness of Professor Ashley's reasoning. In so clearly developing the identity
of the business interests of employer and employee. Professor Ashkv has ren-
dered a distinct service to both classes.
His attitude on the legal j^osition of trades unions is not so clear. He
holds that the law upon this subject is not yet clearly defined and advocates
the ap]iointment of a commis.'^ion to consider the entire subject. On the
whole, we gather from his discussion that he fa\ors the incorporation of
trades unions with the iptalification that their liability shall be limited to the
15S The Annals of the American Academy
enforcement upon ihein of the decisions of arbitration boards, or of agree-
ments with their employers.
Not the least valuable portion of the book is the material contained in
the appendix. The author has earned the gratitude of students of the sub-
ject by collecting a very admirable bibliography contained in the appendix,
and in the voluminous footnotes with which he has carefully supported every
statement, the rules of the conciliation boards in the iron and coal trades of
Great Britain, the joint agreements and scales in the iron and coal trades of
the United States, and a large part of the material relating to the United
States contained in the Report of the Industrial Commission. The appendix
also contains a portion of the correspondence leading up to the appointment
of the Anthracite Arbitration Commission and the awards of that Commis-
sion. Another admirable feature of the volume is a series of four maps,
showing the coal fields of Great Britain, the poal land actually worked in the
leading coal-producing States of the United States, the railroads entering the
anthracite fields in Pennsylvania, and the ownership of the anthracite coal
lands of Pennsylvania.
Professor Ashley has done his work with great care, and in spite of his
modest disclaimer to having contributed anything new to the discussion of
the labor question, it cannot be doubted that he has not only done this, but
has further presented a mass of materials fro.ii which subsequent investi-
gators cannot fail to profit.
Edward Sherwood Meade.
University oj Pennsylvania.
The Place of Industries in Elementary Edncatio}i. By Katharine Elizabeth
Dopp. Pp. vi, 208. Price, $1.00. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1903.
Books on education arc not good reading. \Vc pick thein up from a
sense of duty and find them full of cominonplaces and hackneyed expres-
sions that in other fields are constantly displaced by the advance of science.
This book, however, deserv^es study because of the freshness of its thought.
Its appearance indicates that educators are becoming conscious of the rela-
tion of their subject to other sciences. Miss Dopp ought, therefore, to exert
an influence in broadening the viewpoint of her co-workers even if some of
her doctrines rest on an inadequate basis. To show the connection of educa-
tion with the other sciences is more important than to be right in the indi-
vidual doctrines advanced. It is also a distinct service to bring together
from widely scattered sources the significant facts about the Aryan peoples.
I know of no other book in which so inuch of our racial history is comj^rised
in so small a place and stated so clearly. Even if the book should be con-
sidered as purely historical, the reader will find valuable material at hand.
The scheme of education unfolded by Miss Dopp can be readily com-
prehended. The physical attitudes of a race are the outcome of the situa-
tions in which the race has lived. Each epoch has brought about certain
interactions between man and his environment which, if long continued, are
The Place of Industries in Elementary Juineation 159
transformed into natviral character that becomes a part of the ph3^sical
hcrodity. They exist, dormant or active, in every individual and can be
-evoked by the use of proper stimuH. The newer interactions between man
and the environment are also inherited, but this inheritance is not physical.
Long before an activity has time to turn itself into a natural character it
influences the social environment and is thus inherited through modified in-
stitutions, traditions, customs and habits. Each generation acquires from
the preceding this social environment, and it is as potent as is the physical
heredity of each child in determining its activities and interests. In the child
there is present not merely the original attitudes of the remoter and long-
continued periods, but also many newer attitudes due to the recent activities
that as yet modify men only through their social heredity. He is born with
nothing but his physical heredity; not until he comes into conscious contact
with society does he comprehend and begin to assimilate social heredity. In
his education, therefore, it is wrong to impress first the contents of social
heredity which will tend to overlay the natural attitudes of his physical
heredity. The industries of primitive races are the best means' of education,
since primitive activities are those which have been most thoroughly trans-
formed into natural traits. The history of our race thus gives the order in
which education should proceed.
Miss Dopp believes the instinct to work to be one of the ftmdamental and
permanent possessions of mankind; in her second chapter, ' 'The Significance
of Industrial Epochs, ' ' she unfolds the well-known doctrine of culture epochs,
and holds that the growing child traverses them in sequence, finding within
hiinself as he goes the pleasurable reaction natural to each one. Man's his-
tory began with the hunting stage, followed by the fishing, pastoral and agri-
■cultural stages. Then came the age of metals, the age of travel and trade,
the city, state and the feudal system. Each has been the source of natural
aptitudes which appear in every norma' child. The handicraft and the fac-
tory systems are now a part of social heredity, btit have not had time to affect
physical heredity. They cannot, therefore, evoke any natural reactions, and
hence arc of little use during the earlier stages of a child's development, when
he is repeating the history of the race.
The difference between social and physical heredity is of prime impor-
tance, as is also the fact that the later activities developed by the handicraft
and factory systems, have as yet affected men only through their social hered-
ity. But it does not follow that the natural characters produced by primi-
tive industries are a part of our physical heredity. It is easy to arrange the
history of the race under the title of Aryan development and so maintain
that our ancestors went through each stage of it. There is, however, scant
evidence to support the thesis, and even if there were it would hardly meet
the present educational problem, because so many of our people are not of
pure Aryan ancestr>^. Just as a distinction has been drawn between social
and physical heredity, so must one be drawn between cultural and physical
ancestors. Our cultural ancestors are such nations as Rome and Greece, who
have made the civilization we enjoy, although they represent but a small
part of mankind, their people having been short-lived and their descendants
i6o Tlic Annals of the A})icr{can Academy
loo few to have inodificil our ])hysical htTcdily. But the younger races have
inherited socially what they have not physically earned, and hence our social
heredity is superior to our physical. Our physical ancestors not many cen-
turies ago either belonged to the subject races to whom progress was impos-
sible or they existed in parts of the world beyond the scojx- of advancing
industry.
The movement of the subject races into the Aryan ;.j)here is now being
illustrated bv the incor]>oration of the negro into American civilization.
Although they are gradually acfjuiring our social heredity, their ancestors
look no i)art in the struggle that elevated the Aryans, nor did they enter any
contest through which the natural reactions of the Aryans were evoked.
They come with a defective physical heredity, and Miss Dopp would probably
admit that there is no hope of arotising in them natural reactions suitable to-
Aryan culture. The instinct of workmanship must be created in them;
they lack natural reactions in this field. Our present industrial population
acquired Aryan culture in a similar way. Tht?ir physical ancestors did not
particijiate irt the epoch of handicrafts, to say nothing of the earlier stages of
Aryan ])rogress. It is well known thai at the opening of the present indus-
trial epoch the unskilled laborers of the villages displaced the skilled worknun
of the towns. If artisans of the earlier e]X)ch left descendants, they are now
among the capitalists and not among the laborers. This displacement has
gone on during every great industrial change and is the result of all con-
quests. The superiors pass into the leisure class and in the end die out.
Only the inferiors or the tindeveloped hold their own and jiass their crude
heredity down to their descendants.
There is thus a gaji between the attittides which our social heredity
demands and those we really inherit. Our physical inheritance is much more
meager than our social inheritance. Many natural reactions that should
have come with our cultural development are lacking, because our culture
was imposed on our ancestors and not built up by them. The instincts ar.<i
reactions of industrial life are lacking and cannot be aroused by giving ch 1-
dren the tools and occupations their cultural ancestors found advantageous.
There is no deep-seated instinct for workmanship, there is no urgent demand
for constructive activity except as it is called forth by our social heredity.
The children of laborers must be incorporated into a civilization developed
without their ancestors' aid. Their mstmcts prompt them to recoil from
the new culture; their emotions draw them towards it, rousing desires that
work alone will satisfy. Any scheme for their betterment must act on
desires Vjefore it can affect men^s activity. We must, therefore, influence
lower races through new desires and new standards of living. A favorable
social attitude towards work must precede the rise of instinctive reactions
favoring it. I would say therefore that children should be put in touch with
the best of our social heredity before we attempt to develop natural reactions
suitable to our present industrial activities. We must appeal first to the
emotions, due to an imposed culture, and then to the instincts which the
creation of this culture develops.
Uttk'crsity of Pemisvlvaiiia. SlMON X. P.\TTKN.
L' Industrie daus la Grece Aucicnuc i6r
L'industrie dans la Grece ancienne. By Henri Francottk. Two volumes^
pp. viii, 343, and vi, 376. Bruxelles: Societe beige do Lihrairie,
Professor Francotte's scholarly work won the prize offered, a few years
ago. by the Royal Academy of Belgium for the best study of ' ' the organiza-
tion of private industry and public works in ancient Greece, from the legal,
economic and social points of view." No greater praise can be bestowed
upon these volumes than to say, — what is perfectly within the truth, — that
they deserve a place side by side with the work of such eminent .scholars as
Boeckh and Eduard Meyer.
The commonly accepted theory of economic evolution emphasizes the-
thought, first clearly set forth by Rodbertus, that the economic organization
of antiquity was based on the autonomous family or household, which pro-
duced all that its members required and which depended on other producers
only for a very few objects. This doctrine has since been vigorously devel-
oped by Biicher, and quite as vigorously attacked by Eduard Meyer, who-
maintains that the Greeks had an extensive commerce and an elaborate sys-
tem of industrial specialization and exchange. The present writer occu-
pies a position midway between these two extremes; he holds that the
doctrine of Rodberttis and Biicher is too rigid and absolute.
The first chapters contain a discussion of the rise of commercial and
industrial centers, — of Corinth, Athens and Delos. At Corinth and Delos,
commerce was more important than industry. Athens was an industrial
center. But all three cities were primarily agricultural. Subsequent chap-
ters take up exports and imports, population, the ethical ideas concerning
labor and laborers, domestic industry, the systems of remunerating labor,
the real value of wages, slave competition, public works, labor legislation,
and plans for social reform.
The author reaches the conclusion that there were undoul)tedlv inde-
pendent industries in Greece, but certainly no large-scale production, no
"large manufactures," such as some modern authors have seen fit to dis-
cover in antiquity. Greek industry did not pass beyond the purely eml)rv-
onic stage, except in those few branches of production in which industry was
allied with art. For ordinary products, each city was sufficient unto itself
under ordinary circumstances, the cost of transportation for such goods ex-
ceeding their selling price. Artistic labor had to be applied to goods in
order to impart exceptional beauty and sufficient value to iustifv transpor-
tation. The Greeks were fortunate enough, from tht- standjjoint of ])oster-
ity at least, to manufacture only things of beauty.
Particularly interesting are the author's investigati.:)ns with regard to
the wealth of the Greeks and the uses to which this wealth was put. The
commerce of Athens appears to have been largely in the hands of foreigners:
yet both foreigners and Athenians were accustomed to the loan of their
wealth. Commerce, in fact, cannot develop without institutions of credit;
it is natural, therefore, to find frequent mention of bankers among the Athe-
nians. Most of them belonged to the class of liberated slaves and the bank-
ing personnel was recruited from among the slaves. The principal banking^
i62 The A}ii!als of the American Academy
function was making loans, usually guaranteed by mortgages or tangible
pledges of some sort.
The whole book is characterized not so much by absolute dogmatic con-
clusions as by an exceedingly careful examination of all the possible sources
of infomiation regarding the business life of the ancient Greeks: not so much
by sweeping generalizations like those of Rodbertus and Bucher, as by the
constant and conscientious endeavor to picture the material life of the Greeks
in all its peculiar complexity and variety. It furnishes the reader with a
complete tableau of classic Greek economics and produces the impression of
■careful research and brilliant analysis.
C. W. A. Veditz.
Bates College.
Actual Government as Applied under American Conditions. By Albert
Blshxell Hart, LL. D. Pp. xxxiv, 599. Price, $2.00. New York:
Longmans, Green & Co., 1903.
This is the latest and, in some respects, the most valuable contribution
to the recent output of high-class text-book literature on American govern-
ment of which the manuals of Ashley and Woodburn are the other most
notable examples. The volume under review represents a distinct departure
from the conventional text-book on civil government in that it emphasizes,
first of all, the actual workings and functions of government rather than the
structure and machinery. It brings to the front what may be called the
personal element in government, a feature which adds interest and vitality
to the treatment of the subject. Again, our federal system is not treated as
though it consisted of two entirely separate governments, one national, the
other local, but as integral parts of one system, each as important m the gen-
eral mechanism as the other. Finally, the historical element is interwoven
with the descriptive in a inanner which leaves hardly a dull or uninstructive
page in the book. Perhaps the feature that most impresses the reader is its
•enc}'clopedic character. Certainly no book of the kind has yet appeared
which contains in so compact a form such a vast range of information on so
many phases of American government. Hardly' any aspect of government
activity is left undiscussed. Besides the usual discussion of the structure and
operation of government, there are special chapters on such topics as the
organization of commerce, transportation, education, religion and public
morals, puVjlic order, land and landholding, boundaries and annexations, terri-
tories and colonies, taxation, public finance, foreign intercourse and com-
merce, suffrage and elections, the physical basis of government, etc., etc. To
each chapter is y^refixed a list of classified references, while a general bibliog-
raphy is placed at the beginning, both features adding greatly to the value of
the work. Unfortunately, however, the work otherwise so valuable is marred
by evidences of apparent haste in preparation, which has led the author into
a good many inaccuracies of statement. Some of these may be noted. On
page 16, and again on page 494, the date of the fourteenth amendment is
given as 1870, while on pages 31 and fiij it is given as 1868. On ])age 17, the
Government as Applied under American Conditions 163
statement is made that no member of an Indian tribe can acrjuire citizenship
by naturalization, whereas the Supreme Court, in the case of Elk vs. Wilkin<^
held that it could be acquired in no other way. On page 6g, the statement
is made that the suffrage was conferred upon the negro in most of the South-
em States by ' ' reorganized legislatures in 1865-66, ' ' which is not true. Suff-
rage was first conferred on the negroes by the reconstruction acts and was
first exercised in the autumn of 1867 in the State elections for delegates to the
constitutional conventions called by the military commanders. On page 75,
we are told that since 1841 all the States are by an act of Congress compelled
to vote for members of Congress and presidential electo"s on Tuesday after
the first Monday in November. This day was fixed for all the States by an
act of Congress passed in 1872, but was amended three years later so as to
exempt from its effect those States whose constitutions prescribed a different
day. At the present time representatives in Congress are chosen in Oregon
and Vermont in June, and in Maine in September. It is misleading to say,
as is done on page 262, that presidential electors were chosen in Colorado
by the legislature as late as 1876, when in reality it was the first time they
were chosen there by any method, and the choice was assumed by the legisla-
ture because of insufficient time to provide for popular choice of the electors
between the date of the admission of the State to the Union and the date of
the presidential election. On the same page, the statement is made that
Michigan tried the district method of choosing electors in 1896, whereas the
year was 1892. On the following page (263), it is stated that the electoral
colleges meet in their respective States on the first Wednesday in January.
By the act of 1887, this date was fixed as the second Monday in January. On
page 313, in discussing the liability of States to suit in the Federal Courts, the
statement is made that the Supreme Court held, in the Virginia coupon cases,
that a suit against the State Treasurer to compel him to receive certain cou-
pons in payment of taxes was in effect a suit against the State, and, therefore,
contrary to the eleventh amendment. This is an error. It was held in
Poindexter vs. Greenhow, one of the Virginia coupon cases, that where the
officer acts as such under color of an unconstitutional law and invades rights
acquired under contract with the State, he is not clothed with the authority
of the State and cannot plead that a suit against him is a suit against the
State. To set up such a defense he must show that he acted under a valid
law. On page 495 it is stated that the Supreme Court held in 187 1 and 1884
that the issue of legal-tender notes was constitvitional even in lime of peace.
The Court undoubtedly took this advanced groimd in the case of Julliard
against Greenman in 1884, but in the earlier case the right was upheld only
as a war measure, and nothing was said about the right of Congress to exer-
cise such power in time of peace. On page 497 it is stated that the ratio
between gold and silver was changed by an act of Congress in 1832 to 16^ to i.
Both the date and the ratio are wrong. The year was 1834, and the ratio
16 to I. Finally, on page 50S, it is stated that the rate of letter postage
was reduced in 1853 to three cents, and in 1885 to two cents, whereas the
dates were 1863 and 1883 respectively. Such are some of the inaccuracies
164 The Annals of the American Academy
noticed from a hasty reading of the book. Happily, most of them are
errors of ininor importance, but they indicate a hurry of preparation which
text-book writers would do well to guard against. Apart from this. Pro-
fessor Hart's book is a unique and valuable contribution to the literature
of civil government in the United States.
James Wilford Garnkr.
University oj PctDisylvanin.
Lavissc: Histoirc dc France, Vol. I, Part i. Tableau de la Geographie de la
France. By P. Vidal de la Blache. Pp. 395. Vol. II, Part i, Le
Christianismc. Les Barbares Mcrovingiens et CaroUngicns. By Bayet,
Pfister and Kleinclavsz. Pp. 444. Paris: Hachette, 1903.
In the first section, Personnalite Gcographique de la France, the author
treats of the form and structure of France,. the influence of the Mediterranean
and of the neighboring countries, and the physiognomy in general. The
second section, which comprises fovir-fifths of the volume, is a description
of the individual portions. There is an abundance of excellent maps and
figures. The treatment is based upon the latest researches, and is masterly.
The concise statements, the scientific exactitude, and the delightful charac-
terizations of the various sections, are equally admirable.
The author connects the geography and history of France in a most
illuminating manner; but he realizes fully the action of history upon the
relations between man and the soil which he inhabits. The latter point is
brought out especially well in the conclusion, where he shows the way in
which the centralization of the French monarchy interfered with the material
development of France.
The maps on pages 378, 379 and 382, showing respectively the Roman
roads, the post roads at the end of the eighteenth century, and the principal
railroads at the present day, are especially instructive.
His hints as to the possibility of developments in France, because of
changes now taking place, are very interesting. " L'histoire de noire pays
nous jait assister a un riche develop pentent de dons varies, mats elle ne nous
journit qii'une traduction incomplete des aptitudes de la France. Nos gene-
rations auraient tort dc se complairc au spectacle du passe au point d'oublier
que dans nos montagnes, nos fieiives, nos mers. dans l' ensemble gcographique
qui se resume dans le mot France, bien des energies attendent encore leur tour.
"L'etttde attentive de ce qui est fixe et permanent dans les conditicms geogra-
phiques de la France, doit etre ou devenir plus que jamais notre guide. ' '
We regret that there is no separate index for this portion. Of course,
there will be a general index when the whole work is concluded, but a special
index for this geographical tableau would be more serviceable.
The second volume is an instance of remarkably successful cooperative
work. M. Bayet contributes Book I. f.e Christianismc et les Gerntains en
Gaule, and Chapter V of Book II. on f/Eglise. Les Letires, Les Arts of the
Merovingian period. M. Pfister writes the other chapters of Book II on the
Merovingian period, and, in addition. Chapters VI and VII of the Third
hitrodiiclion to tJic History of Western Europe 165
Book on "the last Carolingians" and "the Origins of the Feudal Regime."
M. Kleinclaixsz, who last year published his work on /^'Empire Carolingien,
has the same subject here.
Although necessarily separated in the chronological make-up of the
book, M. Bayet's and M. Pfister's contributions form logical unities. The
chapter on the Merovingian Church supplements naturally the account of
the early Church. In M. Pfister's work, his chapter on Merovingian institu-
tions and the origins of feudalism might almost be brought together imder
the latter title and published apart from the context.
Now that more than half of this history has been published, it has come
to be almost a work of supererogation to praise the individual parts. Yet
in this volume one may well become enthusiastic over the qualities common
to all three — the delightful style, the skillful use and embodiment of passages
from the original sources, and the carefully selected bibliographical notes.
In this volume, too, there is a considerable number of notes discussing dis-
puted points. Some other volumes have been deficient in this respect.
Even here M. Bayet accepts the Edict of Milan (page 11) without suggesting
that its authenticity has been questioned; and (page 13) he makes pagans
equivalent to peasants in the fourth century, and both words derived from
pagani, without a hint that this idea does not now command universal
approval. Occasionally there are other statements which are open to dis-
cussion, btit this is due generally to the fact that for these events the sources
are few and unsatisfactory, so that the statements must rest upon skillful
deductions rather than assured facts.
The volume as a whole has unusual excellence; possibly the parts that
will prove most interesting to students are the chapter on the Carolingian
Civilization, by M. Kleinclausz; the Origins of Feudalism, by M. Pfister, and
the section on Les Lettres (pp. 243-251), by M. Bayet, although many will
doubtless enjoy the latter 's L' Evangelisation de la Gaule.
In conclusion, we may congratulate ourselves that this history is now
complete for the whole of the Middle Ages. It has fulfilled its early promise
of superseding all other histories of France.
D. C. MUNRO.
University oj Wisconsin.
An Introduction to the Histvry of Western Europe. By J.^mes Harvey Rob-
inson, Professor of History in Columbia University. P]). x, 714. Price,
$1.60. Boston: Ginn & Co., 1903.
Professor Robinson's text-book in medieval and modern European his-
tory marks a distinct advance in American historical text-book writing in
the general European field, and there seems to be no good reason why the
author's manifest intention to invade England should not be realized. The
book is ' ' Entered at Stationers ' Hall. ' ' It has striking merits and its defects
are, relatively, minor.
The conspicuous merit of the book is its interpretative character; it is
an explanatory history and not simply a narrative history. Events, con-
i66 The A}2nals of the American Academy
ditions and institutions arc presented in such a way that the average student
can hardly avoid learning what it is all about.
This particular merit of the book is conditioned upon a steady effort to
pass over, or present merely the fruits of, the lesser movements and devote
attention to men and matters of prime importance. The most marked
instance of the success of Professor Robinson in this work of perspective is
his treatment of the church, especially the medieval church, which is schol-
arly, fair-minded and illuminating. The all-embracing activities, the uni-
versal aspects of the medieval church are most skilfully presented.
Now and then, however, the author fails to keep his work up to this high
level. His treatment of the Crusades is, relatively, half-hearted and inade-
quate. In fact, his general ignoring of Byzantine affairs is a blemish, and the
title of the text-book is no sufficient apology. Unfavorable criticism must
be passed, also, upon the author's chapters on England, not because of their
brevity — they are even too full of detail — but because of their general life-
lessness and relative inferiority. They are confessedly based upon two of
the older treatises (preface, page iv), and their preparation probably, wath
justice, bored the author. In his treatment of the Italian Renaissance, Pro-
fessor Robinson appears to some extent to have forgotten his explanatory
role. The average student will fail to grasp adequately the meaning and
significance of the whole Renaissance movement, more especially its his-
tory beyond the Alps. The extra-Italian Renaissance is not treated in a
separate chapter, as it should be, but is scatteringly dealt with in several sec-
tions of the book. On the other hand, nothing but gratitvide should be felt
for the author's heroic abandonment of the Germanies of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries. Their history is most properly summarized at the open-
ing of the chapter on the sixteenth century.
In surveying the projjortions of the book, as a whole, much satisfaction
will be felt, although it is hardly possible to avoid the conclusion that the
latter part of it suffers from vmdue compression. The Lutheran revolt, to
be sure, is treated with the utmost generosity, but the revolt of the Nether-
lands clearly lacks space, and the great Elector surely is entitled to more than
some half-dozen lines. The problem of proportion is, however, most difiicult,
and Professor Robinson has offered a good solution.
Of distinctly minor importance, because easily corrigible in subsequent
editions, are many slight errors of omission and commission. For example,
Ponthieu, one of the English possessions on the continent. 1360, is omitted
in the text, although indicated on the map (page 257). This holds true of
the Channel Islands also. Nor is it consistent, to say the least, to assert that
the French king "never admitted that he had not the right to levy taxes if
he wished without consvilting his subjects" (page 286), and to characterize,
a few pages below, the Estates' agreement to the taille of 1439 as a fatal con-
cession (page 299). Moreover, the taille of 1439 was not increased, as
asserted, but was soon dropped, a royal taille having been imposed:
The book reads well. The style is kept well in hand, there are only a
few sentences which need ironing out and only a few colloquialisms like
Introduction to the History of Western Europe 167
"pretty much all of southern France" (page 126). The book will prove
very helpful to the man in active life, but it will be especially valuable to
the college student. Its best use demands the association of lectures and
outside reading, the book itself serving as the guiding thread. The "Read-
ings in European History," designed to accompany the history, will, when
published, accentuate its usefulness. The text-book is bound to make ra])id
conquests in colleges and vmiversities, where, at present, it cannot encounter
impregnable opposition. It is of college grade and should not be pushed
into the high schools.
George C. Sellery.
University of Wisconsin.
BOOKS RECEIVED FROM OCTOBER i TO DECEMBER i, 1903.
Aldrich, W., Money and Credit. \e\v York: Grafton Press.
Balfour, A. J., Economic Notes on Insular Free Trade. Longmans, Green & Co. So. 30.
Beavan, A. H., Tube, Train, Tram and Car, or Up-to-date Locomotion. E. P. Button & Co.
$2. 50.
Bernhard, L., Die Akkordarbeit in Deutschland. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. 5m.
Bigelow, P., History of the German Struggle for Liberty. Vol. III. Harpers. $2.25.
Blair, E. H., and Robertson, J. A., Philippine Islands. Vols. VI, VII. Cleveland: A. H.
Clark Co. $4.00 per voL
de Blowitz, Memoirs of M. Doubleday, Page & Co. $3.00.
V. Bohm-Bawerk, E., Recent Literature on Interest. Macmillan. $1.00.
BoUes, A. S., Money, Banking and Finance. American Book Co.
Booth, M. B., After Prison— What' F. H. Revell Co. Si. 25.
Brackett, J. R., Supervision and Education in Charity. Macmillan.
Brigham, A. P., Geographic Influences in American History. Ginn & Co. $1.25.
Brown, A. J., New Era in the Phihppines. F. H. Revell Co. $1.25.
Cambon, J., Essays and Addresses. Appleton. $1.00.
Chamberiin, F. C, Blow from Behind. Lee and Shepard. $1.00.
Cooke, J. E., Virginia — A History of the People. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. $1.25.
de Coubertin, P., La Chronique de France. Paris: A, Lanier.
Crosby, E. H., Tolstoy and His Message. Funk & Wagnalls Co. $0.50.
Dawson, T. C. South American Republics. Putnams. $i.3.S.
Eggleston, G. C, First of the Hoosiers. Philadelphia: Drexel Biddle. $1.20.
German Ambitions as they Affect Britain and the United States. Putnams. $1.00.
Gregorovius, F., Lucretia Borgia. Appleton. $2.25.
Guyot, Y., Les Conflits du Travail et leur Solution. Paris: Eugene Fasquelle. s-Sofr.
Hale, E. E., We, the People. Dodd, Mead & Co. $1.20.
Hammond, J. L. Le B., Charles James Fox. New York: James Pott & Co. S2.00.
Hanotaux, G., Contemporary France. Putnams. $3.7S-
Hawker, R. S., Footprints of Former Men in Far Cornwall. John Lane. $1.25.
Hepburn, A. B., History of Coinage and Ctirrency in the United States. Macmillan. $2.00.
Hillquit, M., History of .Socialism in the United States. Funk & Wagnalls Co. Si. 50.
Hubert- Valleroux, P., La Co-Operation. Paris: Victor Lecoffre. 2fr.
James, G. W., Indians of the Painted Desert Region. Little, Brown & Co. $2.00.
Janvier, T. A., Dutch Founding of New York. Harpers. S2.50.
Jenks, E., Parliamentary England. Putnams. $1.35.
Jewish Charity. Vol. I, No. i. $1.00 per year.
Johnson, F., Famous Assassinations of History. A. C. McClurg & Co. $1.50.
Johnson, W. H., Pioneer Spaniards in North America. Little, Brown &' Co. $1.20.
Keller, A. G., Queries in Ethnography. Longmans, Green & Co. So. 50.
Kelsey, C, Negro Farmer. Chicago: Jennings & Pye. $0.50.
Kitson, A., Money Problem. London: Grant Richards. 35. dd.
Lee, G. C, True History of the Civil War. J. B. Lippincott & Co. S2.00.
Letters from a Chinese Official. McClure, Phillips & Co. $0.50.
Lewis, A. H., The Boss and How He Came to Rule New York. A. S. Barnes & Co. $1.50.
London Board of Trade. Wholesale and Retail Prices. London: Darling & Son. 2S. id.
Lord. A. P., Regency of Marie dc Medicis. New York: Henry Holt & Co. St.TS-
Luetscher, G. D., Early Political Machinery in the United States. Pubhshed by Author, George
School, Pa. $1.00.
Mackinder, H. J., Britain and the British Seas. Appleton. $2.00.
M'Conaughy, J. E.. Capital for Working Boys. New York: Hurst & Co.
Mead, E. D., Principles of the Founders. Boston: American Unitarian Association. $0.50.
Meredith, W. H. Real John Wesley. Chicago: Jennings & Pye. Si. 25.
Mitchell. J.. Organized Labor. Philadelphia: American Book and Bible House.
Mitchell, W. C, History of the Greenbacks. Chicago: University Press.
[168]
Books Received 169
Morison, G. S., New Epoch as Developed by the Manufacture of Power. Houghton, Mifflin
& Co. So. 75.
Myers, P. V. N'., Middle Ages. Ginn & Co.
Negro Problem. New York: James Pott & Co. Si. 2 5.
Noll, A. H., From Empire to Republic. A. C. McClurg & Co. Si. 40.
Noll, A. H., Short History of Mexico. A. C. McClurg & Co. 80.75.
Noyes, T. W., Oriental America and Its Problems. Washington: Judd & Detweiler.
von Obst, G., Notenbankwesen in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amcrika. Leipzig- C. E.
Poeschel. 2.40m.
Partsch, J., Central Europe. Appleton. $2.00.
Pettengill, L., Toilers of the Home. Doubleday, Page & Co. Si. 50.
Pic, P., Traite Elementaire de Legislation Industrielle les Lois Ouvrieres. Paris: Arthur
Rousseau. i2.5o7>.
Pratt, E. A., American Railways. Macmillan. Si. 25.
Redway, J. W., Commercial Geography. Scribners. $1.25.
Richardson, C, Daniel Webster for Young Americans. Little, Brown & Co. $1.50.
Riis, J. A., Peril and Preservation of the Home. Philadelphia: G. W. Jacobs & Co. Si. 00.
Roosevelt, T., and others, Ship of State by Those at the Helm. Ginn & Co. So. 75.
Rosenburg, L. J., Mazzini: The Prophet (jf the Religion of Humanity. Chicago: C. H. Kerr
& Co. $0.50.
Schiemann, D. T., Deutschland und die Gross Politik Anno 1Q02. Berlin: Georg Reimer. 6iw.
Schouler, J., Eighty Years of Union, being a short history of the United States. Dodd, Mead
& Co. $1.75-
Semjjle, E. C, American History and Its Geographic Conditions. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
S.3.00.
Shepherd, R. P., Turgot and the Six Edicts. New York: Col. University Press. $1.50.
Shuman, E. L., Practical Journalism. Appleton. Si. 25.
Smith, W. R., South Carolina as a Royal Province. Macmillan. S2.50.
Soley, J. R., Admiral Porter. Appleton. Si. 50.
Stanwood, E., American Tariff Controversies in the Nineteenth Century. Houghton, Mifflin
& Co. $5. 00.
Swett, L. G., Visit of Lafayette. Lee and Shepanl. Si. 00.
Tarde, G., Laws of Imitation. Henry Holt & Co.
Thwaites, R. G., On the Storied Ohio. A. C. McClurg & Co. Si. 20.
Thwaites, R. G., How George Rogers Clark Won the Northwest . A. C. McClurg & Co. Si. 20.
Thwaites, R. G., New Discovery of a Vast Country in America. A. C. McClurg & Co. Ss.oo.
Trevelyan, Sir G. O., American Revolution. Longmans, Green & Co. S5.00.
Tuckerman, B., Life of General Philip Schuyler. Dodd, Mead & Co. $1.60.
Waller, A. R., Gossip from Paris during the Second Empire. Appleton. S2.50.
Watson, T. E., Life and Times of Thomas Jefferson. Appleton. S2.50.
von Wenckstein, A., Einfuhrung in die Volkswirtschaftslehre. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot.
Who's Who in America. Chicago; A. N. Marquis & Co. 8,3.50.
Willey, F. O., Laborer and the Capitalist. New York: National Economic League.
Willoughby, W. \V., Political Theories of the Ancient World. Longmans, Green & Co. S2.00.
Willson, B., Story of Rapid Transit. Appleton. $1.00.
NOTES
I. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
AMERICAN CITIES
New York City. — Tenement House Report. The report of the Tene-
ment House Commissioner, Robert W. de Forest, contains a record of the
splendid work carried on by the department during the year. The scope of
the work done is well described in a suinmarized statement issued by the
department.
' 'On January i , 1902, a new department of the city government, known
as the Tenement House Department, was created. Since that time all the
tenement houses in New York have been examined and their condition ascer-
tained.
"Tenement conditions in many instances have been found to be so bad
as to be indescribable in print; vile privies and privy sinks; foul eel ars
full of rubbish, in many cases of garbage and decomposing fecal matter;
dilapidated and dangerous stairs; plumbing pipeS containing large holes,
emitting sewer gas throughout the houses; rooms so dark that one cannot
see the people in them; cellars occupied as sleeping-places; dangerous
bakeries without proper protection in case of fire; pigs, goats, horses and
other animals kept in cellars ; dangerous old fire-traps without fire-escapes ;
disease-breeding rags and junk stored in tenement houses; halls kept dark
at night, endangering the lives and safety of the occupants; buildings with-
out adequate water-supply — the list might be added to almost indefinitely.
The cleansing of the Augean stables was a small task compared to the cleans-
ing of New York's 82,000 tenement houses, occupied by nearly three millions
of people representing every nationality and every degree in the social scale.
The task that confronted the department was not, however, limited to this.
Without organization, without employees, with all its problems before it, it
was on the very day that it came into existence confronted with an organized
and vigorous attack in the legislature upon the fundamental principles of
the law for whose enforcement it was created.
"Without previous records, with almost ho information in regard to the
condition of the existing tenement houses, it was called upon to carry out an
important and far-reaching scheme for their improvement, involving the
structural alteration of over 40.000 buildings.
' ' In the period under consideration in this report a new branch of he
city government has been organized, its machinery created and a force of
about 400 employees trained, disciplined and educated; far-reaching and
important advances in legislation have been secured as a result of the depart-
ment 's action, and radical and vicious attempts to break down the tenement
laws defeated. Living accommodations for 16,768 families, or 83,840 per-
sons, have been provided in sanitary, comfortable and decent houses, each
[170]
Municipal Government 171
one of which has been built according to law; notorious evasion of and non-
compliance with the laws have given place to their complete, uniform and
impartial enforcement; the evil of prostitution has been practically abol-
ished in the tenement houses; 337.246 inspections have been made; 55,055
violations filed; 21,584 repairs made to plumbing; 13,617 water-closets
cleaned; 11,611 accumulations of filth removed from cellars and other parts
of such buildings; 13,732 ceilings cleaned; 15,364 walls cleaned; 10,060
unsafe wooden floors removed from iron fire-escapes and new iron floors sub-
stituted; 1,701 fire-escapes erected on buildings that before were without
this protection. The registration of 44,500 owners' names has been secured,
thus fixing the responsibility for bad conditions in the tenements; contagious
disease has been checked and prevented; 32,825 citizens' complaints have
been investigated and the conditions complained of remedied; and an im-
portant tabulation and presentation of the population in every tenement-
house block in the borough of Manhattan has been prepared that will be of
incalculable value to the city.
' 'The existing tenement houses have been frequently and systematically
inspected; foul cellars have had the accumulated filth of years removed;
defective and unsanitary plumbing which has apparently existed for long
periods has been remedied; houses unfit for human habitation vacated;
hundreds of houses have been radically reconstructed and improved; light
has been let into dark rooms; vile yard privies and privy sinks have been
removed and the whole sanitary condition of the city raised to a higher
standard. The results of this work are clearly reflected in the reduced
death-rate, which in 1902 was 18.7 as compared with 20.0 in 1901, and in
the first eight months of 1903 has been reduced to 18.0."
Passenger Transportation} In response to the popular agitation for
better car service begun by the suburban population of New York during
the closing months of 1902, much has been done by the rapid transit com-
panies to improve the means of communication with the business centers.
The enlargement of the transfer system, together with the opening of new
lines, and the increased number of cars operated, have relieved, in a meas-
ure, the extreme overcrowding of the surface lines. The new cars which
the Board of Railroad Commissioners- directed the companies to put on are
nearly all in service, and many of the old cars have been remodeled. A more
definite time schedule has also been introduced, thus insuring a higher degree
of safety and comfort to evers* passenger. However, many of the stations
are too small, and are kept in an unsanitary condition, wider and more direct
stain,vays being needed. At present the attention of the traveling public
is directed toward the inadequacy of the street-car service. During the rush
hour, above 30 per cent of the passengers on the Lexington avenue line are
compelled to stand. Although the percentage of standing passengers on
other lines is somewhat less, the overcrowding is sufficient to cause great
inconvenience to all passengers.
• Communication from W. W. Pierson, Chicago, I'l.
^ Report in the Matter of the Transportation Problem in Greater New York Before the
Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York, Albany, June 30, igoj.
172
The Aiiiials of the American Academy
Vehicular traffic, standing vehicles, and btiilding operations that are
allowed to encroach upon the street are the greatest obstacles to a more
efficient service, although a strict enforcement of the ordinances already
enacted by the city would obviate this difficulty. The Report of the Mer-
chants' Association of New York^ shows conclusively that more cars of a
larger type, if equipped with a power brake, covild be handled with safety
over all the lines.
The subway system* presents a better and more commodious means of
transportation, and to it the public must look for a solution of the present
transportation problem. As regards surface traction, the city has been ex-
ploited by private interest, but underground New York is still under com-
plete municipal control. If permanent relief from present abuses is to be
expected from this source, the city must exercise careful control over any
franchises that may be granted to subway companies through its ability to
lease or operate as it may see fit. The competition which such an under-
ground system would occasion would bring the syndicates in control of
the surface lines to their knees. Until the city exercises adequate control,
the present evils will continue to exist. The difficulty of the problem lies in
the fact that transportation facilities have not kept pace with the increase
•of population.
Cleveland.* — Municipal Ownership. At the election of November 3
there were submitted to the voters six proposals for the issuance of bonds.
Five of these proposals looked to the erection of bridges and the improve-
ment and extension of streets, parks and boulevards. The sixth provides
for the issuance of bonds ' 'in the sum of $400,000 for the purpose of erecting
electric light works and for supplying light to the corporation and the in-
habitants thereof." 24,328 votes were cast in favor of the proposition and
30.501 against it. The statutes require, for the approval of bond issues, an
affirmative vote of two-thirds of all those voting on the proposition.
Various causes have been assigned for the decisive condemnation of this
measure. A consideration which did not go to the merits of the question
of municipal ownership, but which doubtless contributed to the result, was
the fact that the proposed electric light works were intended to supply but
one section of the city, while the bonds wovild be a lien upon all property.
Nor would the fund realized from this bond issue have been sufficient fully
to equip a plant. A large additional issue would subsequently have been
<:alled for. The city was flooded with literature maintaining that such a
move would be inexpedient, costly and ill-timed. Furthermore, it is doubt-
ful if sentiment in this city is so pronouncedly in favor of the principle of
municipal ownership as in many other of our cities. The measure was also,
3 Passenger Transportation Service in the City of New York. A Report to the Merchants'
Association of New York by Its Committee on Engineering and Sanitation. Merchants'
Association of New York, September, 1903.
'Report on Passenger Transportation System of New York by "City Plan Committee"
•of Municipal Art Society. Bulletin No. 3.
' Communication of F. E. Stevens, Esq., Secretary Municipal Association, Cleveland, Ohio.
Municipal Government i-j^
to a great extent, a party issue and shared the defeat of the party advo-
cating it.
Profitable Use of Water Meters. Cleveland's water- works system is
owned by the city. During the past two years great economies in operation
have been effected through the installation of water meters. A peculiarity
attaching to this new economy of management is that it is satisfactory both
from the point of view of the department and also from that of the consmner.
The inauguration of this enterprise was largely inspired by Professor E. W.
Bemis, superintendent of the water works, and it has been carried on under
his supervision.
During the twenty-six years prior to 1902, nearly all the business
premises, but the business premises alone, were supplied with meters,
making a total at the close of 1901 of 3,540 meters out of 55,130 "services."
The consumption of water was, however, increasing much faster than the
population. While the population increased 46 per cent during the period
from 1 89 1 to 1 90 1, the pumpagc of water had increased 150 per cent. The
per capita consumption had increased from 1 1 1 gallons per day to 169 gallons.
Among the reasons which led to the conclusion that the adoption of a meter
system was advisable, was the belief that there was an enormous waste of
water; that the cost of purchasing and placing meters would be much less
than the cost of extensions of the water- works system, including new pumps,
additional tunnels under the lake, etc., and the realization that fairness de-
manded that consumers should pay in proportion to the amoimt consumed.
Two years ' experience has demonstrated that the first two beliefs were justi-
fied. The third belief needed no substantiation froin the argument of ex-
perience. During 1902, 7,739 meters were set. During the first ten months
of 1903 11,938 meters were set. On the first of November of 1903 the city
had :netered 23,000 out of 58,000 connections in use.
The efficacy of meters in the reduction of waste is demonstrated by the
following figures: In 1894 the department pumped 32.5 per cent more water
than in 1891 ; in 1897 the pumpage was 22.5 per cent more than in 1894; in
1900 it was 38.7 per cent more than in 1897. But during the first ten months
of 1903 it was 7.5 per cent less than in 1900, making a difference in favor of
this last period of inore than 45 per cent. Records of the department indi-
cate that the per capita consumption this year will be under 145 as compared
with 169 in 1901. The receipts of the department show a large gain. This
arises principally from the fact that while the sinall consmner has been pay-
ing less for the service, the large consumer has been paying for what he has
received. The plan is operated under a system of minimum rates. For
example, — those whose assessment rate was formerly S7.00 per year must pay
$4.00. The use of meters has not. as might at first be supposed, encouraged
a niggardly and imsanitary economy in the use of water. The $4.00 inini-
mum permits the use of seven barrels of water per day. The rate for water
consumed in excess of the amount allowed by the minimum rate is 5 J cents
per thousand gallons, or six barrels for one cent. The economy has been
effected bv the stoppage of waste. The placing of meters is compulsory, but
it is done at the expense of the city.
174 TJic Annals of the American Academy
Denver Franchises.* — The people of Denver have a special interest in the
subject of franchises granted to companies controlling public utilities. Con-
ditions are such that the public may suffer as much — if not more — than the
corporations. Denver is a composite city; its various units in the days of
their independence granted a variety of franchises covering the more impor-
tant utilities. But, as the city consolidated, there was a reorganization
and consolidation of the companies holding these franchises. One company
now owns all the gas and electric-lighting franchises : another, the water ; and
a third, the street railway. There is, however, uniformity in the water and
tramwav franchises to the extent that they are limited as to time and space.
The water franchises will expire by 1910, and the tramway by 191 1. The
companies owning these franchises are permitted to enter specific streets
and alleys; any extension must be by special vote of the council for specified
places. The electric light company claims an unlimited franchise for the
whole city of Denver, yet it will require a decisi6n of the court to determine
its rights.
The Rush amendment to the constitution of Colorado, which attempts
to guarantee municipal home-rule, provides for a charter convention of
twenty-one members who must prepare, and stibmit to the people, a charter
that requires all franchises, "relating to any street, alley or public place,"
to be submitted to "a vote of the qualified taxpaying electors," after the
company has deposited with the treasurer the estimated cost of the election.
One charter carrying this requirement to a logical extreme has been
overwhelmingly defeated, but no charter that omits this requii^ment can
be submitted to the people. When the charter is finally adopted, the com-
panies will not ask for extension of franchises unless the people to be bene-
fited pay the expenses of an election, which will be a great burden in a city
of 175,000 people. The natural outcome will be, the growth of the city
will at once be limited to streets along which the companies already possess
rights. The suburban parts will suffer most.
The object of the author of the Rush amendment seems to have been
to make it easy to force municipal ownership of utilities. The first pro-
posed charter carried out this idea by making private ownership as precari-
ous as possible. The charter was defeated by the combined interests of
the present office-holders, who hold over until the new charter goes into-
effect, the whiskey interests and the corporations. Yet it is evident that
municipal ownership is losing ground with the independent, thinking voters.
This is shown by the editorials of the papers that support municipal owner-
ship, and the publications of the "Non-Partisan Charter League."
Cuba. — Municipal Affairs.' Title 12 of the constitution of Cuba pro-
vides for the reorganization of the municipalities of the island. The first
important change provided for is the separation of the legislative and execu-
tive powers, the mayor no longer being a member of the municipal council.
As regards municipal functions, article 105 of the constitution gives to the
•Communication of Professor Frank H. H. Roberts, University of Denver, Denver, CoL
* Communication of Hon. F. Carrera y Justiz, Havana, Cuba.
Municipal Government 175
municipalities the right to exercise all functions relating exclusively to the
interests of the municipality. In this regard the Cuban constitution follows
the system of Continental Europe, namely, that of not attcmj)ting to enumer-
ate the powers of the municipalities.
According to articles 103 and 104 of the constitution, the only elective
officers of the municipality are the mayor and the members of the council.
There is, therefore, no attempt to provide for elective heads of departments
as in many cities of the United States. All such administrative officers are
appointed by the mayor and council. This system has the very grave defect
of dividing responsibility. The logical plan would be to give to the mayor
the appointment of all executive officers. Under the Cuban system there
are no special municipal charters; althotigh this does not prevent local vari-
ations within the limits of the framework of the government prescribed
by the constitution, namely, an elective mayor and council.
At the present time the legislature of Cuba is formulating a new mvmici-
pal law, in which the principles of the constitution are developed in detail.
The lower house has formulated and passed such a bill, and the same is now
pending in the Senate. The system of municipal government provided for
by this bill shows marked traces of Spanish influence. In fact, many pro-
visions of the old system have been incorporated which have been rejected
by Spain herself. The recent reform in the Spanish system effected through
the efforts of Senor Maura is in many respects an improvement over the bill
passed by the Cuban lower house.
It will be well to postpone a scientific analysis of the new system until
it receives the approval of the upper house, or has been rejected by it. Suf-
fice it to say that the time has arrived for such an organization of local gov-
ernment in Cuba to arouse local initiative and to develop national prosperity.
FOREIGN CITIES
English Cities. — Productive Undertakings of Municipal Corporations}
On March 31, 1902, out of a total of 317 municipal corporations in England
and Wales (excluding London), 299 were carrying on one or more productive
undertakings. The population of these 299 boroughs by the census of the
preceding year was 13,093,870, and their assessable value for rates, out of
which the general expenses of the corporations were defrayed, amounted for
the year 1 900-1 901 to about $275,000,000.
The rapidity with which municipalities are assuming these lines of activ-
ity is evidenced by the fact that from January i, 1898, to March 31, 1902,
seventeen corporations commenced water-supply vmdertakings, nine gas sup-
ply, sixty-two electricity supply, and thirty tramway undertakings. Two
hundred and twenty-eight cities, well over two-thirds of the total number,
conduct their own markets. The enterprise next most generally undertaken
is water works, 193 cities owning their works. Baths and wash-houses come
8 Communication of Benjamin C. Marsh, University of Pennsylvania.
1-6 The Ajiuals of the American Academy
next in the list, being operated by io8 municipalities, while only twenty-four
have undertaken the task of building and renting working-class dwellings.
A total capital, including borrowed capital, has been provided by the
municipalities for these enterprises, amounting to about $600,000,000. The
average annual income of these undertakings for the four years, 1898-1902,
amounted to $63,000,000: the working expenses for the same period were
S41.000.000.
The undertakings which during this period were conducted at a loss
were electricity supply, baths and wash-houses, burial grounds, working-
class dwellings, harbors, piers, docks and quays. The gas works showed the
largest aggregate profit, while the average annual net profit for all the under-
takings during the four-year period amovmted to £378,281.*
The German Municipal Exposition.'" — The object of the German Muni-
cipal Exposition held during the past summer at Dresden was twofold:
First. To demonstrate the condition of civic life in Germany at the
beginning of the twentieth century, especially as regards the development
of the larger communities in Germany during the recent years, and to show
the progress made in that time in carrying on civic affairs.
Second. To bring together a collection of German trade appliances and
manufactures for the requirements of popular civic life.
The exhibits under the first head were divided into eight groups :
I. Street traffic, public lighting, roadway construction and drainage,
bridges and harbors, including excavation work, measuring, surveying, street
tramways, etc.
II. Town extension, sanitary and tenement inspection.
III. Public artistic work (architecture, painting, sculpture, etc.).
IV. Public health and well-being, constabulary, etc.
V. School education and instruction.
VI. Indoor and outdoor relief of the poor, care of the sick, charitable
schemes and endowments.
VII. Control of cash receipts, of finance operations and of public rates
and taxes, the trading of city and town councils, land property and savings
banks and loan institutions.
VIII. Registration and office appliances, regulation of official staff, sta-
tistics and printed reports, etc.
These exhibits were arranged in the permanent exhibition building
erected by the city of Dresden at a cost of about $450,000. and with a floor
space of 55,500 square feet.
The machines, building materials and miscellaneous manufactures of
the second division were arranged in a number of small buildings around the
main exhibition hall, the entire mode of classification being most carefully
arranged, so that the lay mind might secure the largest benefit. The value
of the exposition to a foreigner, giving as it did a vivid picture in photographs,
' For fuller data see Municipal Corporations Reproductive Undertakings brought up tO'
March 31, 1002, in continuation of Parliamentary Paper No. S8, of Session 1891).
"• Communication of Benjamin C. Marsh. University of Pennsylvania.
Mituicipal Government
ijr
models and actual objects of the present-day condition in German cities, lay
in its tremendous suggest! veness. Transformed tenements and beautified
cities are most important object lessons as to what 128 German cities, with
an aggregate population of over thirteen millions, have accomplished in their
striving to better conditions. The expenses of the display were guaranteed
by the cities in proportion to their population, no provision being made by
the central government. An effort has been made by representatives of
the State Department to have the entire exposition brought to St. Louis, and
it is greatly to be hoped that an appropriation may be made by the directors
of that exposition to have the main exhibits there, if the German cities are
unable to meet the expense.
1^8 The Aivials of the American Academy
II. DEPARTMENT OF PHILANTHROPY, CHARITIES AND
SOCIAL PROBLEMS.
The System of Charities in Washington, D. C — While the general
principles of social service seem to be the same in every well-organized asso-
ciation, it is interesting to observe their application to the specific condi-
tions which vary so greatly in diflferent places.
In Washington, for example, of the 3,000 families treated in the course
of the year by the Associated Charities, nearly two- thirds are colored, and
the recognized lack of principle, of morality, of responsibility, among the
colored people, makes the problem of their improvement a harder one than
that raised by the simple question of poverty. Washington has no compul-
sory education law, and has consequently many pien and women, grown boys
and girls, who can neither read nor write. We can realize what it would
mean in our work to have no power beyond our own persuasions to force a
refractory boy or girl to attend school. In visiting some of the open-air play-
grounds of Washington during school hours, one sees a large number of chil-
dren of school age, especially boys, who seem to prefer a day of exercise (or
idleness) at the playground to the same time spent in gaining an education.
Being asked why they do not go to school, they give a full and suflficient
reason by saying "Don't want to." I think if the agents of the Associated
Charities were asked what one municipal reform would most help them in
their work, they would say with one voice, "Give us a compulsory education
law and a truant officer."
The oldest section of Washington, and the poorest, is Georgetown, the
original site of many old mansions famous in history. The ground is
very low, intersected by a canal which is practically an open sewer. The
former mansions have fallen to decay, but still serve as tenement homes,
where each large family rents one large tumbledown room, and swarms of
children, black and white, crowd the halls and stairways. There are many
shanties and lean-tos in this section, no better than large packing-boxes
thrown on the damp earth, no running water, and no plumbing of any kind.
Little wonder that one hears at almost every door, "Johnnie's down with
typhoid now," or "Mary has the fever," or "Don't come in, lady; all the
children have diphtheria." Here is a section almost entirely without em-
ployment for man or woman. There are no manufacturing interests, few
stores, very little laboring work, no piers or docks. Most of the families are
supported by the women, whose sole form of employment seems to be the
mending of canvas sacks, — meal-bags. These sacks are riddled with holes
by mice, and are constantly in need of mending. The women may be seen
in the streets early in the morning, dragging large bundles of them to their
homes, where they spend the rest of the day patching and darning. One
poor woman told us fjuite cheerfully that she counts all the holes, and that
' Abstract of address by Helene Ingram, New York, before the staff of the New York
Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor.
Philautliropy, Charities and Social Problems i 79
she never found more than twenty-five in one bag. The pay is one cent for
each bag.
These are some of the conditions in the worst section of Washington,
where I spent a long afternoon, making some twenty or twenty-five calls with
a volunteer worker. The volunteers in Washington, by the way, are a most
excellent argument for friendly visiting. A conference class for the training
of these unpaid workers is held twice a month at the central office, under Mr.
Weller, the general secretary, and after a preliminary training there the
volunteers are drafted off to the agencies, where each is placed m charge of
one or two carefully selected families.
The paid agents or visitors have almost entire control and responsibility
in their own districts, being under no supervision except that of the general
secretary, to whom they report occasionally, though not at any stated times,
and whom they consult when any question especially puzzling arises. The
olifices are planned somewhat like those of the New York Charity Organiza-
tion Society, each office being located in its own district, and consisting of
one, two or more rooms, sometimes of a whole small house. There are six
division offices. The agent opens her office at nine o'clock, receives and
interviews applicants from nine until eleven (sometimes as many as forty
being interviewed in one morning), and spends the rest of the day in making
visits.
The Associated Charities gives no relief from its own funds, but has the
€ooperation of the Citizens' Relief Association, which is "all funds," having
no paid agents, no office or administrative expenses. All its disbursements
are made through the agents of the Associated Charities, and cover food,
fuel and shoes. But the agent's work is not all upon her cases. Her office
is called a social center, and here are held, on several evenings of the week,
classes and meetings, some for contributors, some for mothers, some for
boys, for girls, etc. The agent gives addresses before these meetings, and
arranges for other speakers also to address them. She takes full charge of the
stamp savings, similar to New York's Penny Provident Fund, devoting one
afternoon each week to stamp visits ; and one agent, last winter, started at her
office a sewing-room for poor women. The agents write all the letters regard-
ing their own cases, reports, inquiries and information, and very often write
the records themselves. One visiting stenographer from the central office
reaches each district office about once a week, and takes a few hours' dicta-
tion, later typewriting the records so dictated. Each agent also has a num-
ber of friendly visitors reporting to her, in some cases as many as sixty for
one district.
At each division office we find, besides the agent of the Associated Chari-
ties, a nurse from the Instructive Visiting Nurse Society, together with her
closet of medicines, bandages and special bed-clothing for the sick poor. The
nurse receives applicants during certain hours, when the office becomes a
little dispensary, and she is always ready to visit the cases of illness recom-
mended by the agent.
A pleasant feature of the South is the cordial hospitality with which one
meets on every hand. The little children on the street smile at the passing
I So TJic Antials of the American Academy
stranger and say "How do?" and the visitor to the poorest home receives a
warm welcome and an invitation to come again soon.
Charities Building in Baltimore. — A Federated Charities building has
recently been completed in Baltimore. The headquarters were purchased
by the Association for the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor from
a legacy left by the late J. Craft Whittington, and this association, in pursu-
ance of a plan for co6perati\'e work that was inaugurated some time ago,
invited the Charity Organization Society and the Children's Aid Society to
share the building. At the opening ceremonies, it was stated that private
charity in Baltimore is so comprehensive that ofificial charity is not needtd.
Associated Charities of Salem, Massachusetts. — The Associated Chari-
ties of Salem, ^Massachusetts, have completed twelve years' labor to unite the
charitable activities of the city. All of the local societies and many indi-
viduals make use of the bureau of registration, while the Samaritan, St. Vin-
cent de Paul, city relief committees and the rntmicipal poor department are
in close touch.
Public Baths. — The New York Association for Improving the Condition
of the Poor found that of 125,000 persons who used the public baths, only
16,052 were females. The association thinks it has found a remedy by an
appeal to their vanity. Cards are now issued with the inscription, "For a
soft, rosy complexion, a quick, graceful walk, a healthy appetite, try a shower-
bath twice a week."
Boys' and Girls' Aid Society of Oregon. — The eighteenth annual report
of the Boys' and Girls' Aid Society of Oregon describes some interesting
work in that State. The society's activity is limited to the care of homeless,
neglected or abused children under sixteen, who are sound mentall)- and
physically. It also receives and cares for "youths under the age of sixteen,
who have made their first missteps and are in danger of being imprisoned."
What the society calls the "incorrigible class" is kept at the receiving home
for "a season," and then paroled under supervision. "Thus we assume to
a great extent the work done in the East by juvenile courts, as our methods
are nearly identical, with the exception that instead of a report being made
to the judges, the delinquent children report to our superintendent, who
should have learned by experience to deal with this class much better than
the average jurist." We incline to doubt the statement and conclusion, and
it seems unfortunate that such an emaciated version of the possibilities of
juvenile court work should be presented to the public of Oregon.
The dependent children are placed out in family homes, and visited 'at
least once a year." Out of 337 children visited, there were only three whom
the superintendent found it necessary to remove. Such a remarkable record
speaks well for the character of the Oregon families, and excites the envy of
child-placing agencies in the East, which visit the children more frequently,
and find it desirable — if not absolutely necessary — to transfer many of the
children from one family to another.
The legislature appropriates $8,000 for the use of the society during the
next two years. The receipts for the year were $8,371.18, of which $4,499.25
Philanthropy, Charities and Social Problems i8i
was paid by the state and counties, $3,254.36 was interest and rents collected,
and only $617.57 '^^^s contributed by voluntary subscription.
There is no state board of charities in Oregon, and the supervision of
this subsidized organization is left to the benevolent citizens who constitute
its board of directors. That this plan has so far worked well is attested by
the remarkable confidence which the society enjoys, and is due to the calibre
of its officers and the fact that its superintendent is a man of high character
and ability.
Seattle Charity Organization Society. — The Charity Organization
Society of Seattle, Washington, has just completed its seventh year. For
some years its very existence was precarious, but the period of stonn and
stress seems to have been happily passed, and its recent report is evidence
that it has now found itself, and is strong in the confidence of the community.
Under the direction of its secretary, Mr. H. Wirt Steele, formerly of Chicago,
the society is branching out into the progressive field of preventive and cor-
rectional work. Machinery has been set in motion for the establishment of
a juvenile court, and a Charities Indorsement Committee established, to
suppress superfluous charities, and give expert advice to legitimate charities
for the purpose of increasing their efficiency. This committee is composed
of representatives elected by the Chamber of Commerce, Merchants' Associa-
tion, Manufacturers' Association, also charity societies, and has secured
the cordial cooperation of the contributing public. The society publishes a
monthly organ, known as the Exponent, which serves to voice its needs and
to educate public sentiment.
Indianapolis Charity Organization Society. — A very interesting report
has just been published by the Charity Organization Society of Indianapolis.
It is printed in an attractive form and is full of valuable material.
It demonstrates the possibility of controlling mendicancy and pauper-
ism by proper organization and efficient, intelligent work. The society is
directed by men of common sense and civic patriotism, able to bring into
harmonious cooperation all public and private agencies for the relief of pov-
erty and correction of crime. To build up such an organization and win for
it the absolute confidence and cooperation of the public is the work of years.
The work of the society covers an extensive field, but the responses to
appeals for money have been most generous. The number of applicants
for the year was 1,299. Of this number, 775 were new, and 524 were old;
1,008 were white, and 291 colored.
The society has had for many years efficient cooperation with the town-
ship trustees, the city dispensary and the city hospital. The report also
states that the work has received the cordial support of the police force and
the police judge.
Two years ago the society began a systematic investigation of the needs
of the blind and crippled beggars. It was understood that the vicious and
immoral should be turned over to the police, but that those who were willing
to work should be encouraged to do so. This work continued until the
chronic mendicants were driven out of the streets. Many are still living in
t82 The Annals of the Aiiicrican Academy
the city, hut go to the small towns to beg. Only one man during two years
showed a willingness to learn a trade. He was blind, and was sent by the
society to the blind industrial school, and stayed two weeks, costing the
society tive dollars. The cooperation of the police in this work has been
most valuable, in fact the society is constantly gaining the interest and active,
permanent cooperation of associations, individuals and churches.
The committee on friendly visiting has laid the foundation for an aggres-
sive camjiaign along that line for the coming year.
During the coal famine, the demand was met by citizens, mine owners
and the railroads, who placed the responsibility for the distribution of coal
upon the society. Noble assistance was given by the Press, which sent a
representative to the mines, at its own expense, to hasten the shipment. The
city furnished four teams for delivering. Able-bodied men, otit of work,
were employed to handle and deliver the coal. Attention is called to the
fact that many boys and girls get their first lessons in stealing by picking
coal.
One of the most interesting features of the work is child-saving. The
society had been working untiringly to form an organization whose duty it
should be to save helpless children from vicious, immoral and cruel parents.
A law was passed by the legislature creating a committee called the Board
of Children's Guardians; the activity of this board has touched nearly every
form of work for children. The board is especially responsible for the pas-
sage of the truancy law and the juvenile court law. The tenement house
question is under consideration, and first steps were taken last year to im-
prove conditions.
The report speaks very highly of the work done by the Indiana avenue
and the Harley Gibbs settlements, and also gives an interesting account of
the negro organization for assisting the poor of that race. This work has
profited by the suggestions made and the interest shown by the C. O. S.
The past season has been one of unusual activity in summer charities.
The Vacant Lots Cultivation and the Fresh Air Mission publish separate
reports. The Xcws' vacation work has taken a definite form and become
an excellent part of the general charity work. The Xcws has also furnished
free ice to the sick and pasteurized milk to babies. The Indianapolis Star
made a special effort in behalf of the Fresh Air Mission and raised a consider-
able part of the funds to run the work. All the papers have assisted greatly
during the year. They have never failed to make public appeals for special
needs as well as for the general development of benevolent work.
The society is making a specialty of training workers for various fields in
charitable and social activities and is also putting forth its first effort toward
the prevention and relief of tuberculosis and the study of sanitary conditions.
A convalescent home has been planned in one of the healthiest locations in
the State, where people with moderate means may, for a small sum, take
treatment and rest. In addition to this trained workers are being placed in
the field, and by their influence and suggestions will save much unnecessary
sickness.
Philanthropy, Charities and Social Problems 183
Child Labor in New Jersey. — In Governor Murphy's message to the
New Jersey legislature in January, 1903, attention was called to various com-
plaints that children of less than the legal age were employed in factories,
notably the glass factories of South Jersey. The governor stated that he had
investigated these complaints and was satisfied that they were much exag-
gerated, but recommended that he be given the power to remove the factorj^
inspector for cause at any time, and that the minimum age limit for the em-
ployment of boys be raised to fourteen, to correspond with that for girls.
His recommendations were adopted by the legislature, with the proviso that
the new laws should not go into effect until September i. It was confidently
expected that John C. Ward, the chief inspector, would be removed promptly
on this date, but the governor apparently felt that it was unwise to take cog-
nizance of that officer's past neglect of duty, especially in view of the fact that
the department of factory inspection was notoriously undermanned, and that
the inspector might set this up as an excuse. The governor met the dilemma
by putting his secretary, John L. Swayze, in charge of the work of the depart-
ment. Mr. Ward continued to draw his salar\- up to the end of the year and
then resigned. Mr. Swayze has full control. Already he has proved that
so far from the reports of the disobedience of the law being "exaggerated,"
the actual conditions were actually understated. Some of the material which
Mr. Swayze has to work with in his department is not of a high standard, but
he has put some backbone into all of his deputies, and has taken hold of his
difficult task with great vigor and efficiency.
The New Jersey branch of the Consumers' League invited a number of
representatives of educational and philanthropic organizations to meet in
Newark on December 5, to discuss present conditions and the needs for fiirther
legislation, with a view to forming a permanent child-labor committee. The
meeting was presided over by Mr. Hugh F. Fox, who was the chairman of
the child-labor committee of the National Conference of Charities which met
in Atlanta last spring. Mr. Fox made a plea for the practical cooperation
of all the forces which are dealing with children, — the truant officer, proba-
tion officer, child-caring societies, associated charities, relief agencies and
labor leaders. He declared that at present the factory inspector is over-
whelmed with work. "Complaints of child-labor abuses are piling in on
him faster than he can handle them: his deputies are discharging children
b}- the score; he has suits enough now on hand to strain his energies for
months; and in the midst of all this hurly-bvu-ly he must keep his head level
and act with cool judgment, lest the law be made so obnoxious that it defeat
its own ends! In this transition period of new experience, it is almost im-
possible to tell precisely what are the exact limitations of the law, or the
imperfections of the present system. That some further legislation will
eventually be needed, there is little doubt: but the people who are adminis-
tering the work are best able to decide what it shovild be, and just when it is
expedient to initiate it." In the general discussion which followed, the
importance of a working agreement between the factory- inspectors and
truant officers was emphasized. Mrs. E. E. Williamson declared that the
184 TJic Amials of the American Academy
truant officers could enter the factories without further legislation. The
meeting concluded not to advocate any immediate action, but it was felt
that the time had come to federate all the forces which are working for the
welfare of the child and the preservation of family life. The chainnan
was empowered to appoint a representative committee, pledged to the sup-
port of the departments of factory inspection, public education, juvenile
courts, and the State Board of Children's Guardians, in the administration
of the laws to benefit children. The committee was instructed to cooperate
with these forces and others in securing further facilities for increased
efficiency of service.
As soon as the legislature meets, arrangements will n<j doubt be made
to increase the appropriation for the factory inspector's department, so that
it mav be enabled to perform its duties completely.
Establishment of a New Jersey State Board of Charities. — The annual
report of the New Jersc)' State Charities Aid Association has been delivered by
Charlton T. Lewis, LL. D., president of the association, to Governor Murphy.
Its leading feature is the account given by the general secretary, Frederick
H. Wines, LL. D., of the powers, duties and operations of state boards of
charities and boards of control in all the states which have, or have had,
them. The association will concentrate its efforts at Trenton, this winter, on
the establishment of a New Jersey State Board of Charities. Dr. Wines was
secretary of the Illinois board from 1869 to 1893, and from 1897 to (899,
when he was appointed assistant director of the United States Census. He
has been identified with the movement of which he writes, aJmost rroni its
beginning, and is qualified to speak on the subject as an expert.
A board of control is an executive board; local boards of trustees are
boards of control. A supervisory board, on the other hand, has no executive
powers; or if it has any, they relate to individuals, not to the management
of institutions. Supervisory boards serve without compensation; the mem-
bers of state boards of control are usually paid salaries, and are expected to
give their entire time to the duties of their office.
'I'here are or have been, in the United States, twenty-eight state boards,
of which only eight are central boards of control. An account of each of
these twenty-eight boards is given, and an abstract of the laws under which
they operate, together with a brief notice of what they have respectively
accomplished. So coinplete a task has never before been attempted, and
the collecting of so much interesting and valuable matter in a single state
document is a service rendered by this association to the entire country and
to the world, which should be appreciated as it deserves. Doubtless the
report will be in demand by students everywhere, and it will exert a wide
and healthy influence vipon the general course of American legislation.
This historical and legal account of the powers and duties of state boards
is followed by a well-written and highly readable review of the inovement
from its start to date. The almshouse is the first eleemosynary institution
to be created in any community. The accumulation in it of a mixed popu-
lation of sufferers suggests the need for classification of paupers. The first
Philanthropy, Chariiics and Social Problems 185
institutions to be provided for special classes, siich as pauper children and the
pauper insane, are furnished by private benevolence. Then subsidies are
asked and granted from the public treasury. Finally, the state itself under-
takes to meet this demand, and public charity is born.
The state is sovereign, and what is done in this direction bj' counties and
municipalities, is done by its authority. A moral obligation, therefore, rests
upon the state, to see that the functions delegated by it are properly exer-
■cised. Hence the need of supervision, which the state boards have been
organized to supply.
The question whether advisory or executive state boards are most influ-
•ential and effective for good, has been repeatedly discussed by the National
Conference of Charities at its annual sessions, and the weight of opinion in
that body is in favor of boards with powers of visitation, inspection, report
and recommendation, leaving the control and management of the state insti-
tutions in the hands of individual boards of trust.
The arguments in favor of state boards of control, as presented by their
advocates, are fairly and fully stated in the report of the association. Never-
theless, after giving them full consideration. Dr. Wines does not regard them
.as convincing.
It is pointed out that the Kansas and Wisconsin boards of control have
acknowledged and complained of political interference with the appoint-
ments made by them to such an extent that it is characterized as "an intol-
•erable evil." The Iowa board is now^ composed of exceptionally able and
iipright men. and it is not yet clear what will occur in that state, but the
extraordinary provisions in the statutes show that the fear of erecting a
gigantic and all-powerful political machine was present to the minds of those
by whom it was formed.
Attention is called to the testimony of Mr. James E. Heg, ex-superin-
tendent of the New Jersey Reformatory, founded on his personal and very
varied experience both there and in Wisconsin, to the effect that the Wiscon-
sin s}-slem destroys the initiativt; of superintendents, reduces them to the
position of figureheads, discourages their ambitions and impairs their useful-
ness to the state.
A state board of control does not exercise the moral or educational
influence that resides in supervisory boards.
Such a board itself needs supervision, which that system does not pro-
vide for. With local boards of management and a central supervisory board,
the state secures the advantages of both systems; it loses nothing, it gains
much. A printed list of the powers conferred upon boards of charities in
the various states shows that there is work enough for them to do without
imposing on them executive duties, while the special functions which they
fulfil cannot be discharged, equally well at least, by state boards of control.
One common purpose underlies them all. It can be stated in a single word —
publicity. No abuse, no wrong can flourish, except in the dark.
The American state boards of public charity have been the center of one
of the most noteworthy movements in the evolution of modern civilization.
i86 The Aujials of the American Academy
From them has gone forth an influence that has been felt at home and abroad,
in Europe, and even in Asia. They have been behind three great reforms
in this country: its child-saving work, the amelioration of the lot of the
insane, and the recent modifications in the treatment of crime and criminals.
What they could not do directly they have accomplished indirectly, by
organizing state and national conferences of charities and county boards of
voluntary auxiliary visitors.
New Jersey has shared in the benefits of this movement, but has not yet
taken her proper place in it. Full credit is given the State for what it has
achieved in the line of philanthropic advance. The State Board of Health
and the State Charities Aid Association have performed some of the functions
of a state board. But they have not adequate authority and power, and the
association is cramped for funds. What it has accomplished in the face
of adverse conditions is surprising; but it is not a board of charities, and that
is what the state needs and what the association urges the legislature to
create without further delay.
The New Jersey Training School for Feeble-Minded Girls and Boys. —
The tifteenth annual report of this institution shows a vigorous growth and
improvement in its work. The number of children sent by the State and
the number of pri\'ate and free pupils has increased.
Hon. Philip P. Baker, the president, lays special emphasis on the work
in the different school departments. He also calls attention to the work of
the board of lady visitors in providing the children with amusements which
the latter can appreciate and enjoy.
The present organization of the work under the superintendency of Mr.
E. R. Johnstone is especially thorough. The daily facts in connection with
each child; its general physical condition, its cleanliness, its habits of sitting,
standing or walking, and any possible symptoms of anaemia, the various
preliminary tests of sight or hearing; its family history and environment
before entering the institution, are all carefully recorded.
The report of the physician (Dr. Charles W. Wilson) shows a favorable
condition of health in the institution. Dr. Wilson points out the peculiar
value of manual training and gymnastics in that "they are essential in
developing dormant faculties and form an important part in the work of
'education by doing.' " The defective child's entire body is stimulated
and in that way the brain areas are reached.
Attempt to Elevarte Retail Liquor Business in Ohio. — At the last
annual meeting of the Ohio Brewers' Association, which was held two
months ago, the president of the association declared, in his formal address,
that it is the duty of the brewers to elevate the retail liquor business and to
do all in their power to close disreputable places. He argued that a saloon
could and should be conducted as decently as any other business, and that
the power to bring saloons to this point lies with the brewers. He recom-
mended that they refuse to sell beer to any place of a low order, and that the
retailers be 'made to understand that if their places are not conducted in a
respectable manner they cannot buy beer. The association proved to be
Philanthropy, Charities and Social Problems 187
even more radical than its president, for it passed a resolution which went
farther than his resolution. The resolution was as follows:
"Resolved, That, whereas the lawless and disreputable clement in the
saloon business exists to the detriment of all the legitimate interests of the
members of the association; be it
"Resolved That it shall be the duty of the executive committee to in-
vestigate all cases of complaint involving the conduct of saloons selling beer
in this State, and in case it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the commit-
tee that a saloon is conducted in a lawless and disreputable manner the mem-
ber of this association supplying said saloon with beer shall be ordered to
immediately discontinue business relations with its proprietor, and to with-
draw his support, financial or otherwise, from him; and in case of failure on
the part of said member to immediately obey such order of the committee,
or in case the saloon shall be supplied or supported by a brewer who is not a
member of this association, the committee shall without delay take such
measures as may lie in its power, legal or otherwise, to enforce the closing up
of such saloon."
It is remarkable that this startlingly novel action of the Ohio brewers
has passed almost unnoticed in the press. To those who have any practical
experience with the question, it is an event of the greatest significance and
a happy augury for the future.
i88 TJic Atnials of the American Academy
III. NOTES ON COLONIES AND COLONIAL GOVERNMENT
Philippine Constabulary. — The report of the Chief of the Philippine
Constabulary, General H. T. Allen, U. S. A., shows material progress in the
suppression of ladronism.
By an Act of Congress and the various Acts of the Philippine Commission,
the Philippme scouts and the constabulary, while not merged into one
organization, mutually support and aid each other and operate under the
direction of the civil government.
Twenty-nine companies of scouts, viz. : Nine companies of Macabebes;
nine companies of Ilocanos; three companies of Cagayanos; three com-
panies of Tagalos; two companies of Bicols, and three companies of Visayans
have been turned over to the civil governor for duty under the chief of the
constabulary.
The district chiefs of the constabulary, in setting forth the special events
of the year, have shown that the disturbances which are the aftermath of a
long period of warfare have been aggravated by plagues affecting man and
beast. It is also evident from the ease with which many of the people of the
mountains and in remote localities can be deceived by skilful intriguers,
that we must be prepared to meet frequent local disturbances for some time
to come.
One of the curious and interesting features of the local distm-banccs is
the manner in which religious pretensions are customaiy among the bandits.
Nearly all the more important leaders of the local bands are accustomed
to assume authority as "popes" or "bishops" of new religious sects.
The following "popes" have been captured: Rios of Tayabas, Faus-
tina Ablcna of Sainar, and Fernandez of Laguna. Margarita Pullio and
Catalina Furiseal, two women who posed as ".saints" and who were inter-
ested in the distribution of "anting-antings," were also captured. There
still remain "Papa" Isio in the mountain fastnesses of Negros and "King"
Apo in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija.
Rios represented himself to be an inspired prophet, and found little
difficulty in working on the superstitions of the credulous inhabitants of
barrios distant from centers of population. He organized an "Exterior
Municipal Government" (for revenue only) with an elaborate erinipment
of officials. He promoted himself and his followers in rapid succession imtil
he had with him one captain-general, one lieutenant-general, twenty-five
major-generals, fifty brigadier- generals, and a host of officers of lower grade.
General Allen calls attention to the specially valuable aid rendered at
all times by the governors of the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal. Laguna and
Pampanga, and furthermore states that it is his candid opinion that every
provincial governor of the archipelago is earnestly and sincerely working
in behalf of the duly constituted government of the islands.
With the exception of Surigao and Misamis (Moro provinces in Min-
Colonies and Colonial Government 189
danao), order has been maintained in the entire archipelago by the constab-
ulary and scouts.
To quote from the report, General Allen says, "I hardly deem it neces-
sary to speak of the expediency, economy, and necessity of maintaining
native troops. In former days there were able officers who opposed or
doubted the policy of arming Filipinos, but the proven loyalty to the author-
ities furnishing food, shelter, and clothing, the paucity of desertions, the
economy of inaintenance, the direct education of the men and its general
influence upon the people, and the special fitness of the Filipino for the
work recjuired of soldiers in the Philippines have answered their objections.
The Filipinos, like all people, will light when properly paid, fed, and
disciplined, but above all when properly led. This is the keynote to suc-
cessful use of Filipinos as soldiers. It is therefore of the utmost importance
that high-grade officers, thoroughly courageous, upright, sober, intelligent
-and energetic, be placed over them.
Aside froin the strategic importance of the Philippines as a military
supply depot where troops and war material may be kept for Oriental emer-
gencies, it is thought that for some time to come the American troops should
not be further reduced. After extensive warfare, however humanely con-
■ducted, several years must elapse before there is mental pacification, and
during this period of adjustment to new conditions it is unwise to ignore
the great moral effect of a strong anned force. At present there are in
round numbers 18,000 American troops occupying seventy posts.
The firm stand taken by the government towards criminals who pose
.as patriots, the consistent work of the courts, the field service of the con-
stabulary and scouts, and the vigilance of the Division of Information have
been effective in reducing vicious elements and in encouraging loyal ones
interested in the prosperity and general welfare of the Philippines. This
work continues unabated, and it may be truly said that, since American
occupation, peace conditions have never been so real as at present, nor has
the outlook for the future been so favorable.
Government Encouragement of Agriculture in the Philippines. — The
attention of readers of The Annals has already been called, at various
times, to the valuable work carried on by the Philippine Bureau of Agricul-
ture. As the economic development of the archipelago progresses, the
activity of this Bureau becomes more important, until it now promises
to be one of the principal means of disseminating scientific information
among the agricultural interests of the country and of encouraging the adop-
tion of iTiodern methods. The Bureau has recently issued a valuable com-
mercial bulletin on cocoanut culture, which has been transmitted to the
Bureau of Insular Affairs at Washington, and from which the following facts
appear:
Cocoanuts in the Philippines furnish two distinct products, the dried
meat of the nut, or "copra," and the outer fibrous husk. Until very recently
the demand for the "meat" of the cocoanut, or its products, was limited
to the uses of soap-boilers and confectioners, but within the past decade
iQo TJic Ainials of the American Academy
chemical science has produced from the cocoanut a series of food products
whose manufacture has revolutionized industry and placed the business
of the manufacturers and of the producer upon a plane of prosperity never
before enjoyed.
There has also been a great advance in the processes by which the new
oil derivatives are manufactured. The United States took the initiative
in 1895. In 1897 the Germans established factories in Mannheim, but it
remained for the French to bring the industry to its present perfection.
The conversion of cocoanut oil into dietetic compounds was imdertaken
at Marseilles in 1900, by Messrs. Rocca, Tassy and de Roux, who in that
year turned out an average of 25 tons per month. In 1902 their average
monthly output exceeded 6,000 tons and, in addition to this, four or five
other large factories were working to meet the world's demand for "vegeta-
line." "cocoalinc" or other products with suggestive na.-nes, belonging to
this infant industry.
These articles are sold at gross price of 1 8 to 20 cents per kilo to Holland
and Danish merchants, who, at the added cost of a cent or two, repack them
in tins branded "Dairy Butter" and, as such, ship them to all parts of the
world. It was necessary to disguise the earlier products by subjecting therh
to trituration with milk or cream; but so perfect is the present emulsion
that the plain and unadulterated fats now find as ready a market as butter.
The significance of these great discoveries to the cocoanut planter
cannot be overestimated. They have a field that is practically without com-
petition and the question will no longer be that of finding a market, but of
producing the millions of tons of copra or oil that this one industry will
annually absorb in the immediate future.
The fiber of the cocoanut husk, or coir, as it is commercially known,
has never yet been utilized in the Philippines. Second in value only to the
copra this product has been allowed to go to waste, but highly improved
and inexpensive machinery for the complete and easy extraction of the
husk fibers is now rapidly superseding the tedious hand process once in
general use.
In the Philippines the nuts yield a large amount of fiber and a relatively
small percentage of chaff and dust.
There are large areas throughout the littoral valleys of the archipelago,.
as yet unexploited, which in the essentials of soil, climate, irrigation facilities,
and general environment are suitable for cocoanut growing.
The present conditions present especially flattering attractions to
cocoanut growers capable of undertaking the cultivation upon a scale of
some magnitude. By cooperation, small estates could combine in the
common ownership of machinery, whereby the products of growers could be
converted into more profitable substances than copra.
The present production of copra (estimated at 278,000 piculs, almost
20,000 tons) is an assurance of a sufficient supply to warrant the erection
of a modem plant for the manufacture of the ultimate (the "butter")
products of the nut. The average market value of the best grades of copra
Colonies and Colonial Government 191
in the Marseilles market is $54.40 gold per English ton. The jobbing value
on January i, 1903, of the refined products, was for each ton of copra:
Butter fats $90.00
Residual soap oils 21 .00
Press cake 5.20
Total $1 16.20
The difference representing the profit per ton, less the cost of manufacture.
The minimum size of a plantation on which economical application of
oil and fiber preparing machinery could be made, is 60 hectares, approxi-
mately 150 acres.
There is no other horticultural tropical product which may be grown
in the Philippines where crop assurance may be so nearly guaranteed, or
natural conditions so nearly controlled by the planter.
In view of the ever-expanding demand for cocoanut products, the indus-
try proinises for many years to be one of the most profitable and desirable
enterprises which commands the attention of the Filipino planter.
The Philippine Bureau of Agriculture has also forwarded to the Bureau
of Insular Affairs, War Department, a report on the introduction and dis-
tribution of seeds and plants in the islands which shows that much has been
done in the way of introducing new food and forage plants, as well as new
fruits and other growths of economic value.
The experiments already conducted demonstrate that many garden
vegetables of northern origin may be grown in great perfection in the Philip-
pines.
Experiments have been tried with artichokes, asparagus, beans, peas,
beets, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, sweet corn,
cucumbers, egg-plant, endives, garlic, leeks, lettuce, muskmelons, water-
melons, okra, parsnips, peppers, radishes, rhubarb, salsify, spinach, squash,
tomatoes, and turnips.
The results show both success and failures. As was anticipated, the
results secured by the Bureau were better than those obtained by the natives
who had secured seed for experimental purposes. Beans grew well in many
places, while peas gave less satisfactory results. Experiments with pump-
kins, cucumbers and melons show a long record of disaster, all practically
confined to the ravages of insects or fungous diseases, but it is thought that
by planting during the dry season, and by irrigation, better results may be
secured.
Egg-plants, tomatoes and peppers, all of unrivaled size and excellence,
were generally reported both by natives and by the government agronomic
stations. Okra, of tropical Asiatic origin, has given universally good
results. The profitable production of beets, turnips, lettuce, endives, spinach
and radishes has been demonstrated, and is assured by an intense high-forcing
system pursued from the day the seed is sown until the crop i-: secured.
192 TJie Auuals of the American Academy
Among oil-bearing seeds, scsaminc, rape, peanuts and sunflower have
done well and there seems to be a valuable future for theni in rhe islands.
In the Bureau's trial grounds at Manila, a limited number of Japanese
plums, persimmons, chestnuts and grapes have been tried, together with
Japanese types of citrus fr^iits and a few pomegranates. The grapes and
persimmons have made a good initial start and the progress of the citrus
fruits and pomegranates has been of the best.
E.x])eriments with textile plants have been confined to cotton and
jute. While the former has given good results, it is a question whether
the native grower has an adequate conception of the standard crop require-
ments of cotton-growing countries. Jute promises to give excellent returns
and it is the opinion of the Bureau that the export trade of British India
in this fiber, amounting to $15,000,000 annually, could be largeh' diverted
to the Philippines.
A number of varieties of coffee have been imported from Java and dis-
tributed to planters interested in the attempt to rehabilitate the coffee
industry, and the Bureau has raised many thousands of young plants which
will be set out under its own direction. Fine varieties of tobacco seed have
been distributed in the famous Isabela and Cagayan tobacco districts.
With the experience gained from these first trials as to the best soil,
the best time for planting and methods of cultivation, there is no doubt
but that vegetable, fruit, forage and other crops will be materially increased
and add to the agricultural wealth of the archipelago.
Internal Improvements in the Provinces. — The report of M. Crisologo,
the go\-ernor of the province of Ilocos Sur, has been received by the Bureau
of Insular Afi'airs, War Departinent, from which the following has been
taken :
Since the surrender of the insurgent forces in April, iqoi, public order
in the province has not been disturbed in the least particular. The collec-
tions from all sources during the year 1902 were $48,788.42 United States
currency, and the disbursements were $41,030.95, leaving a balance in the
treasury, January 1, 1903, of $7,757.47.
There was appropriated during the year, for the repair of roads and
bridges, $18,31 1.22 Mex. The work done by the Provincial Supervisor up to
June of last year succeeded in putting them in fair condition, so that it was
possible to travel the whole length of the public wagon-road of the province
from north to south, but the rainy season came and destroyed a large portion
of the work done.
The construction of roads in such a strong and lasting manner as to
resist the destructi\'e action of the rains is an unsolved problem, as yet, in
the Philippines. Even during the time of Spanish domination, when the
provincial governnients had at their disposal the personal labor of the resi-
dents, this matter was one that was closely studied, but a satisfactory solu-
tion was never reached.
There are in the province 81 public school houses, 5 female and 28 male
American teachers, and 157 Filipino teachers. In each of the pueblos there
PRINCIPLES OF MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION
Whatever disagreement there may be about the cause, it is
generally agreed that American municipal institutions work badly.
As Professor Bryce has said, " There is no denying that the govern-
ment of cities is the one conspicuous failure of the United States,"
and altliough it has been fifteen years since " The American Com-
monwealth" was published, — years full of effort and experiment in
municipal government, — the remark is still as true as when first
uttered. Progress has been made, improvement has been effected,
but the normal tendency of American municipal institutions is
towards corruption. Efforts for the improvement of city govern-
ment are now being conducted chiefly upon lines which imply in-
stitutional failure. The prevailing opinion is that the best results
are to be accomplished through agencies of supervision and con-
trol extraneous to the organization of municipal government and
influencing its operation by moral influences. It is an era of civic
leagues and reform associations. Their activity is upon the whole
beneficial, but as a regular system it means civic betterment by in-
timidation of the government as organized by law, so as to counter-
act the normal tendency of the constitutional system. The problem
which must be solved in arriving at correct principles of municipal
organization is what gives rise to this normal tendency towards
corruption.
Commonplace though the statement be, yet it seems necessary
to reiterate the principle that for every effect there must be a pro-
portionate cause, since only by grasping that principle firmly and
applying it unflinchingly can we hope to solve the problem. Our
failure in municipal government has certainly not come by chance;
we c^n at least be sure that there is in it a sequence of causation.
Taking this as the starting-point, discarding all other assumptions,
renouncing so far as possible all prepossessions, and ignoring if we
can our inveterate political superstitions, let us try to work out the
problem in as cold blood as if it were a proposition in mathematics.
The cause of the failure must be either: (i) Defect of char-
acter in the people, or (2) Defect in the organization of govern-
ment.
[195]
2 The Annals of the American Academy
Defect of Character in the People
(i) There is a great weight of authority in support of this
hypothesis. Professor Bryce himself indines to it. While criticising
the organization of municipal government in this country, he re-
marks that in " the growth of a stronger sense of civic duty rather
than in any changes of mechanism, lies the ultimate hope for the
reform of city government." This is the theme of endless admoni-
tion and exhortation, and there is an immense literature dealing
with the subject from this point of view. The specifications may be
grouped under these general heads: (A) Levity of national char-
acter; (B) lack of public spirit; (C) the vileness of local politicians;
(D) the spirit of Commercialism; (E) the natural outcome of
democracy.
A and B form the hypothesis which gives rationality to the
movement in favor of public administration of all municipal utili-
ties. As matters stand the logic of that movement seems to be that
because municipal authority does badly what it now has to do it
should be intrusted with as many more things as possible. The
movement, however, assumes that present incompetency is due to
popular neglect and indifference, and that when public interests are
given overwhelming importance public opinion will be roused into
the needful activity to see that they are properly managed.
The same hypothesis is favored by European critics, who are
so impressed by striking evidences of our national strength and
efficiency that they feel bound to conclude that our failure must be
ascribed to lack of will rather than want of capacity. The London
Spectator recently offered this explanation in an article entitled
" What is it that makes Tammany possible ?" published in its issue
for November 14, 1903. It finds the explanation of Tammany's
triumph in sheer levity of character and exuberance of optimistic
spirit. " For some Americans things simply cannot go wrong.
Whatever happens, the result will ' pan out' all right. A nation so
optimistic, so ready to pit its own energy and talent against any and
all obstacles, naturally becomes careless of obstacles. It will even
set them up to knock them over again." The particular case was an
unfortunate selection, as four-fifths of the New York City electorate
are of foreign parentage, but in no case is there any satisfactory evi-
dence in support of the hypothesis. To deny that such levity of
[196]
Principles of Municipal Organization 3
character exists would merely meet assertion with assertion, and it
is not a point upon which proof can be offered, but every one must
judge for himself. My own opinion is that the general feeling is
rather one of despair than of easy confidence, and that affairs are as
they are, not because the people of afflicted communities are indif-
ferent, but because they cannot help themselves. But even admitting
that levity of character is an American characteristic, why should it be
so invariable in its consequences and those consequences produce
characteristic effects in government alone. In other fields results
due to inattention and carelessness are sporadic and do not produce
settled characteristics. There is a great variety of age and circum-
stances in American communities, and it would be entirely against
the doctrine of chances that everywhere municipal government
should tend towards waste, inefficiency, and corruption, simply as
a result of levity of disposition in the American character as regards
this particular kind of government.
A consideration which is conclusive on this point is the differ-
ence which exists between the United States and Canada as regards
the characteristics of municipal government. Doubtless people acute
in such things may trace differences between the average Canadian
type and the average type of citizen in the United States, but any
one crossing the border experiences no more sense of change than
in passing from one State to another in the Union. He sees the same
sort of people in looks, dress, and speech. The country is just as
new as the United States and is just as intent upon material con-
cerns. So far as public spirit is concerned, one of the things that
surprises an inquirer is the absence of the civic leagues and reform
associations which abound in the United States. There is a con-
spicuous absence of the fuss and worry about local politics that are
found everywhere in the United States. If the municipal govern-
ment took its tone directly from the popular disposition, it might
fairly be expected to be pretty much the same as in the United
States, if not rather worse along the same lines. As a matter of fact,
it possesses altogether different characteristics and occupies a much
higher plane. The notion that the peculiar characteristics of Ameri-
can municipal government are due to levity of national character
has really nothing to support it.
The charge of lack of public spirit is more plausible, for it must
be admitted that the class of citizens wiio are best qualified to ap-
[197]
4 The A}nials of the American Academy
prcciate and discharge the public obhgations attaching to member-
ship in City Councils or office under the city government hold aloof
from such positions. This, however, may be due not to lack of pub-
lic spirit, but to special conditions attaching to municipal office,
making it repugnant to men of dignity and independence. That
the latter cause is the true one will be admitted by those who are
conversant with the facts of the case, and it is further attested by
the fact that there is no difficulty in getting men of character and
standing to undertake other public employments. The churches, re-
formatories, and charities of the country are, as a rule, managed by
unpaid trustees actuated by a sense of duty. Associated effort for
the advancement of public interests is a marked feature in the life
of every community. Upon a broad survey of the facts of the case
we must conclude that instead of a lack there is rather an excess
of public spirit in this country fraught with some peril to the home
life of our people. The truth appears to be that public service exerts
a more extensive attraction upon the mass of society than in any
other countr}^, exciting a vast and varied amount of private activity
in behalf of public interests.
The Wickedness of the Politicians
C is the cause usually assigned in local discussion of local con-
ditions and constitutes the working theory of journalism and of civic
leagues. One who makes inquiry among the people of any com-
munity as to the cause of the misrule of which they complain has
dinned into his ears scornful and indignant or cynical and humor-
ous accounts of the vileness of the local politicians. The remedy
advocated by the newspaper and the civic leagues is summed up in
the well-known formula, " Turn the rascals out," with the differ-
ence that while the newspapers generally make a partisan applica-
tion of the principle, the civic leagues strive to ignore party lines
and base their recommendations upon the personal merits of candi-
dates as individuals. Consideration of this hypothesis need not
detain us long, for despite its general acceptance it collapses at the
touch of logic. The politicians are as much an integral part of the
community as any other class of people in it, and if the politicians are
vile it must be because political conditions select and promote vile-
ness. The correct principle applicable to such matters was laid down
by Burke when, refusing to join in the personal abuse levelled
[198]
Principles of Municipal Organization 5
against the Bute ministry, he said, " Where there is a regular
scheme of operations carried on, it is the system, and not any indi-
vidual person who acts in it, that is truly dangerous." The public
business is not differently circumstanced from any other business in
that it must work with such material of character, good, bad, and
indifferent, as it finds in its operations, and it selects to its service
such as meets its actual requirements. The misfits are eliminated,
the suitable retained. It may be laid down as a principle of uni-
versal application that the typical characteristics of any business
pursuit or professional occupation are the result of the conditions
under which its activities are carried on. The notion that the
general vileness of municipal politics is due to a fortuitous concourse
of bad men in the business of municipal government is so puerile
that its prevalence is somewhat difffcult to reconcile with the practical
common sense of the American people in other respects. Time and
again, with great fuss and fury about smashing the ring and turn-
ing the rascals out, a change of administration is effected that simply
carries on the same old game with a new set of players. The prob-
able explanation of this obtuseness is that in ordinary business
affairs administrative authority implies control of methods, so that
individual candidacy embodies systematic reform, a new manage-
ment having discretionary authority to make such changes as may
be necessary to accomplish the results for which it will be held re-
sponsible. In municipal business no such discretionary authority
as to organization exists anywhere. In its main features the system
is fixed by the State, and administrative activities cannot control con-
ditions but must conform to them.
The Spirit of Commercialism
D is the favorite hypothesis of a class of critics whose logic is
sufficiently acute to discern that the typical characteristics of local
politics are primarily a result rather than a cause, and that for a
result so general and constant there must be a cause as general and
constant. The spirit of commercialism appears to meet the require-
ment, and in a work which advocated this view with such brilliancy
of rhetoric as to attract a great deal of notice it was asserted that
the demoralization of local politics might have been predicted as the
natural consequence of the growth of commercialism. The opera-
tion of this influence was traced in detail, with practical instances of
[199]
6 The Annals of the American Academy
its manipulation of elections and of the conduct of local agencies of
government. That there is in fact a vast system of this character
underlying and influencing the operations of public authority will
be doubted by no one who is acquainted with the interior working
of local politics. Exertion of influence of such character may be
said to be a regular department of activity in the organization of
extensive commercial interests, particularly such as make use of
public franchises. The existence of this agency of corruption does
not, however, necessarily prove that it is the primary cause of the
vile tendencies of municipal governxnent ; it, too, may be essentially
a result rather than a cause, a response to conditions which it did
not create, although it may be intensifying them, and thus acquiring
a secondary causative influence of formidable magnitude.
In essential character the supposition is like that previously
considered, and is indeed simply an extension of the same idea. In-
stead of the proposition that local politicians happen to be a bad lot in
this country, the more general proposition is advanced that Ameri-
can business men as a class are a bad lot, and their badness pene-
trates the conduct of local politics, generating corrupt tendencies.
But it may be urged that the reasoning used to discredit the previous
hypothesis is now inapplicable because the present hypothesis as-
sumes a general condition of which the corruption of local politics
is a symptom, so that from this point of view the failure of munici-
pal institutions ceases to be an isolated phenomenon. That the con-
duct of the public business should be so markedly inferior to the
conduct of private business, is explained by the fact that, in the
business world the influence of the prevailing spirit of commercial-
ism is counteracted by motives of self-interest, whereas in the politi-
cal field it operates upon trusteeship whose integrity it undermines.
The hypothesis is further strengthened by notorious facts indi-
cating that the commercial spirit exerts a like influence upon trustee-
ship in general when the details of transactions can be covered up
in a way to seclude them from ordinary business knowledge and
insight. It must be admitted that the hypothesis is better supported
and has more consistency than any other so far considered.
Conceding for the sake of the argument, that in this country
the spirit of commercialism has predatory characteristics which have
obtained peculiar prominence, yet there are plain indications that
in the general field of social and business interests a remedial prin-
[200]
Principles of Municipal Organisation 7
ciple is at work. While unscrupulous plungers have made big hauls
by methods essentially fraudulent, yet energetic reactions are incited
which stigmatize such activities and reduce their scope. Hence the
predatory characteristics of commercialism are always most promi-
nent in the new fields opened from time to time in the course of
economic development, in which business activities operate under
conditions whose nature is not as yet fully apprehended by the pub-
lic. Conditions become purer as they become definite and perma-
nent. There was a period in the development of transportation
methods when the rapid introduction of new conditions of control
and management aftorded opportunities for defrauding investors
which were unscrupulously utilized. Such abuses of trust are no
longer prevalent in that field ; they now most abound in the process
of industrial reorganization which forms the latest phase of eco-
nomic development, but reactions that are tending to repress them
are manifestly at work. The predatory characteristics of commer-
cialism, even when most active and influential, appear to be abnormal
and transient. Commercialism when regularized tends to accord
with the general ethical tone of the community, except in the field
of politics, a fact which plainly indicates that the marked difference
which exists is the result of special conditions existing in the field of
politics. If the conditions are such that business affected by the ad-
ministration of public affairs can be carried on only by sordid con-
spiracy with political power, the relations of business and political
interests wall take that shape and keep that shape. Hence while the
fact is undeniable that commercialism pursues corrupt methods in
dealing with local government, the same excuse is applicable which
Macaulay gave in the case of the system of corruption by which
parliamentary government was carried on by Whig ministries in
Walpole's time : " They submitted to extortion because they could
not help themselves. We might as well accuse the poor Lowland
farmers who paid blackmail to Rob Roy of corrupting the virtue
of the Highlanders, as accuse Sir Robert Walpole of corrupting the
virtue of Parliament."
The Working of Democratic Institutions
E. That the corruption of local politics is the natural outcome
of democratic institutions is the explanation one is apt to get in
private talk with party managers. It is not propounded as a theory,
[201]
8 The Annals of the American Academy
but frankly recognized as a condition which must be dealt with on
the principle that what can't be cured must be endured. Good and
bad go together in most of the affairs of life, and democratic gov-
ernment is no exception to the general rule. It is in the main good,
because it secures attention to the wants and desires of the common
people, but at the same time it subjects the transactions of govern-
ment to the play of their passions and appetites. Despite the rail-
ing of purists and idealists, the general result is not so bad ; the
public business in one way or another does get on and social in-
terests are tolerably well protected. It is true that a great deal of
grafting goes on, but if there is a strong boss and a solid machine it
is kept within bounds and business interests can know just what
they can depend upon. It costs a great deal of money to run politics,
and in one way or another the public offices must meet the cost of
filling them under the system of popular election. The best and
really cheapest way of treating the problem is through the boss
system, which controls the selection of candidates and determines
public policy by putting it upon a business basis.
This opinion is held not only by party managers but also pre-
vails among hard-headed business men who face the facts as they
find them. They support ring rule as a practical necessity ; that
is to say, they believe that some sort of a firm political control su-
perior to and exercising authority over the regular constitution of
municipal government is necessary to prevent the government from
being simply almoner and pander to the mob, and to make it con-
siderate of business and social interests about which the ordinary
run of people know little and care less. Unless there is a boss, gov-
ernment lacks consistency and purpose; there are no settled con-
ditions upon which enterprise can rest ; no competent authority with
which business interests can negotiate. The occasional interreg-
nums which occur between the downfall of one boss and the rise of
another are always a period of political demoralization and conten-
tion. While not enunciated as a distinct principle, yet the tone of
comment one hears in discussion of municipal politics among prac-
tical men of affairs implies that corruption is the natural defence of
society under democratic conditions of government.
It must be admitted that close contact with actual conditions is
apt to lead to practical conclusions of this kind. No one who ever
knew a boss as he is can doubt that he constantly acts under stress
[202]
Principles of Municipal Organization 9
of circvimstances which he did not create and which his disappear-
ance would not remove. The individual boss frequently disappears ;
the boss system remains and is a normal. characteristic of American
municipal politics. The combinations which the boss rnakes and by
which he maintains his ascendency are his own, but he must play
the game on the board and with the pieces he finds. I have heard a
boss speak in tones of unfeigned scorn of city councilmen who were
reputed to be his own agents. When asked why he took up with
such people, he described the posture of politics in their wards to
show that in joining interests with them he had done the best he
could under the circumstances. The poor material furnished by the
workings of local representation is not unfrequently a subject of
remark in the private talk of a boss, but without complaint, for it is
the characteristic of the type and the secret of its strength to respond
with simple directness to actual conditions, and to base measures on
the realities. It is proof of great efficiency of character when a boss
is able to maintain himself upon his slippery throne.
The notion that democratic politics are necessarily vile has
abundant philosophic support. It pervades the Federalist and was
fairly rampant in the convention which framed the Constitution of
the United States. If one consults Calhoun's analysis of the tenden-
cies of " the government of the numerical majority," his prophecy
seems startling in its accurate anticipation of the present evils of
our politics. As an exercise in dialectics it would be possible to pro-
duce a copious thesis in support of Talleyrand's cynical definition of
democracy as an aristocracy of blackguards, but there would be a
fatal flaw in the argument. For one thing, the marked difference
which exists in this country between national and municipal ad-
ministration, which have a common base in the character of the peo-
ple, would not be accounted for.- Dialectic skill might perhaps get
around that, but the working of democratic institutions elsewhere
furnishes facts absolutely irreconcilable with the thesis. If corrup-
tion is a character mark of democracy, why is it not displayed in
the municipal institutions of Canada, England, Switzerland, and
Australia? They are far more democratic than those of this coun-
try; the policy of government is immediately subject to popular
control ; checks which we think necessary to guard against results
of popular impulse do not exist; mayors have no veto power and
all power is amassed in the city council, but there is no boss system,
[203!
lo The Annals of the American Academy
no machine to run the administration, and honesty is the normal
characteristic of the system. Although there is complaint as to the
character and tendencies of municipal government, it does not relate
to integrity of administration but to its scope and purpose. That
democratic government should be successful in securing a faithful
stewardship of public resources is assumed as a natural consequence
of the system ; where it works badly is in the ideas it engenders of
the social application of these resources, and some alarm is expressed
as to the results of the tendency of municipal government to enlarge
its functions. Not content with managing markets, water supply,
lighting, and street railways, it is taking on lodging-houses and
even dance-halls. While I write this article I notice in the London
Times a report of the opening of a fine new municipal building at
Cheltenham at a cost of $50,000, which the Times says is " to
answer in every respect to the social requirements of the town." It
contains a hall that will accommodate 2500 people, the floor of which
has been especially constructed on girders and spiral springs for
dancing. It is stated that " there are also large drawing- and supper-
rooms, with refreshment-, smoking-, and card-rooms." Sir Michael
Hicks-Beach, ex-chancellor of the exchequer, spoke at the formal
opening. In the course of his remarks he said :
" Every man here on his first election as a town councilor must
feel that, above all things, it is incumbent on him to do what is
vital to the prosperity of your town in maintaining and increasing
its attractions to the public. It is for this reason that your town
council and their predecessors have spent large sums in widening
your streets to allow for the increase of traffic, in founding and
maintaining various kinds of municipal institutions, in providing
public gardens and winter gardens, in establishing electric lighting,
and last and greatest of all in that sanitary work in which you, Mr.
Mayor, have taken so proininent and so able a part, and in securing
for Cheltenham an admirable and sufficient water supply, at a cost,
I believe, of something more than half your whole municipal debt.
All these are works of necessity, absolutely works of necessity."
Commenting upon the address, that strong and influential finan-
cial journal, the London Economist, condemned the alleged reac-
tion against municipal trading, socialism, or whatever it may be
called, and the reason it gives is particularly interesting as regards
the subject under consideration. It says:
[204]
Principles of Municipal Organi::ation il
"We look tipon municipal institutions as providing-, to a large
extent, the very salt of English life. We are, therefore, frankly glad
to see the cordial way in which Sir Michael Hicks-Beach pays trib-
ute of honor to those who, for no salary and for very little glory,
accept the often very irksome burdens connected with membership
of county, city, and borough councils, and recognizes that it is well
for them to take a large and liberal and not a poor and contracted
view of their functions."
Such facts are absolutely conclusive on the point that the low
character of American municipal government is not the normal
outcome of democratic government. If that were so there would be
some evidence of the same character in the more democratic insti-
tutions of England, and Switzerland, and on the contrary they excel
so conspicuously in integrity of administration that this character-
istic is fully conceded even by critics who see danger in some of their
tendencies.
General Observations on the Character Theory
We have now passed in review every hypothesis embodying the
idea that the failure of this country in municipal government is due
to defect of character, and have found each inadequate to explain
the phenomena. Before leaving this branch of the subject some gen-
eral considerations are in place. It is doubtful whether there can be
such a thing as inadequacy of popular character to sustain fit gov-
ernment. If a people are left to their owm devices, it seems to be a
necessity from the constitution of human nature that local institu-
tions will conform to popular disposition, although there does not
appear to be any essential connection between the real worth of local
administration of government and the attitude of popular sentiment.
Orientals live contentedly in dirt and squalor, and are apt to regard
as an outrage the imposition of sanitary regulations or other exer-
tion of public authority to better conditions, while they view with
satisfaction displays of magnificence on the part of their rulers
which to Western ideas appear to be senseless waste and injurious
extravagance. Then, too, there are countries veneered but not really
informed by civilization, whose condition is one of social disor-
ganization and hence chronic political instability, in which gross
corruption and incapacity of local government coexists with a habit
of bawling patriotism which claims for institutions moral superiori-
[205]
12 The Annals of the American Academy
ties which do not exist and which extenuate defects which are too
patent to be denied. Neither praise nor blame of the character of
institutions is proof or disproof of real merit, but where there is
chronic dissatisfaction it is at least proof that institutions of local
government have not taken shape in accord with the popular char-
acter and in adaptation to its normal motives, but that they are
essentially an imposition. If the principle of authority is that of
self-government, the existence of such chronic dissatisfaction is evi-
dence that the machinery of government is not adjusted to the force
which moves it.
Looking at the matter from this point of view we may be able
to perceive the fallacy contained in a proposition frequently advanced
in regard to municipal government, — namely, that since in this coun-
try the people rule they must put up with the consequences if they
happen to be bad ; that the stream can rise no higher than its source,
and hence it must be affirmed that on the whole the people are
getting the kind of government they deserve. If they want better
government, let them make better government. There is a degree
of truth in this, as regards government in general and viewing the
character of a people as inclusive of their traditions, beliefs, ideas,
and political superstitions, but it is true only in the general sense
that government of every kind, no matter how despotic or how
liberal, is founded upon public opinion. As regards municipal gov-
ernment in the United States it is almost wholly untrue and alto-
gether misleading. Suppose the shareholders of a railway or busi-
ness corporation were subjected to by-laws which require them to
elect the general manager, the board of directors, and various di-
vision chiefs as distinct and separate authorities debarred from even
transacting business together ! If the affairs of the concern were in
a chronic state of demoralization and mismanagement, would it be
argued by any sensible man that since the shareholders had the
power to choose whom they would to serve them they had no right
to be dissatisfied with results? Such a situation would certainly be
taken as evidence of defective principles of organization, preventing
the shareholders from establishing effective control. What possible
reason can there be for reaching any different conclusion if the cor-
poration happens to be a municipal corporation. The situation may
be evidence of chronic stupidity, or of unreasoning acquiescence in
'[206]
Principles of Municipal Organisation 13
traditional forms of procedure, or of blind subjection to political
superstitions, but it affords no proof of ethical deficiency.
Defect in the Organisation of Government
(2) We now take up the second branch of the inquiry, — namely,
the possibility that the cause of failure may be defect in the organiza-
tion of government. On first thought it might seem to be imprac-
ticable to submit this hypothesis to the test of facts, so many ex-
periments have been tried in municipal charters and so many
varieties exist. Upon this score alone one might feel justified in
rejecting the supposition ofif-hand, since if the trouble lay in de-
fect of organization surely it would have been gotten at in the
course of so much anxious effort. We are, however, bound by our
plan to discard all assumptions and to proceed with scientific pre-
cision. Since American varieties of municipal government unite in
common failure, we need not consider them in detail. Whatever
the cause may be, it is generic. Furthermore, we must conclude that
this generic cause will manifest itself as a generic difference when
American municipal government is compared with municipal gov-
ernment in other civilized countries. Now when the comparison is
made, what generic difference appears? Nearly all cities here and
abroad have their own peculiarities, and a survey of the general
field reveals great variety of organization. The only difference
which appears to be generic is this, that whereas everywhere else the
executive and legislative departments are connected, in the United
States they are disconnected. It further appears that whatever evils
or defects may accompany the connection of the executive and legis-
lative departments in one organ of municipal sovereignty, the boss
system is unknown wherever that principle of organization obtains,
no matter in what country we look for examples. It is a phenome-
non characteristic of and peculiar to municipal government organized
upon the principle of separating the executive and legislative func-
tions by embodying them in distinct organs of authority. The logical
conclusion is that the principle of corruption in American municipal
government is this disconnection of the executive and legislative
functions.
On reaching this conclusion one instinctively revolts from it,
because it seems to attack the fundamental principle of American
constitutional law, — the principle of the separation of the powers of
[207]
14 The Aiinals of the American Academy
government. Moreover, one finds that the idea which pervades
theories of municipal reform is the necessity of sharper division and
more eflfectual separation of the executive and legislative functions.
This idea is the cardinal principle of reform advocated in the munici-
pal programme adopted by the National Municipal League, and so
high an authority as Professor Goodnow argues that it is a prin-
ciple based upon the laws of psychology, governing all conscious
activities. It would seem to be a supposition too monstrous to be
entertained that the whole theory upon which American institutions
of government are founded is malign, and that the anxious studies of
reformers have so grievously miscarried as to prompt them to select
the fundamental cause of corruption as the cardinal principle of
municipal organization. But, on the other hand, the conclusion in
which our inquiry has resulted has been reached by logical inference,
so that the need is suggested of close scrutiny to determine whether
the apparent conflict really exists.
Separation of the Pozvers of Government
What is meant by the separation of the powers of government ?
If it means simply that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers
shall be separately constituted, there is no radical divergence be-
tween American institutions and those of other civilized countries.
The generic difference which has been noted lies in this : outside of
the United States it is the practice to join together in one organ of
government and thus indissolubly connect in their operations the
separately constituted powers of government; in the United States
it is the practice not only to constitute these powers separately, but
also to disconnect them in their operation by embodying them in
separate organs of government. For instance, in Toronto the people
elect a mayor to be head of the executive government; they also
elect a board of controllers upon a general ticket to represent the
community as a whole, and in addition members of the city council
are elected in every ward to represent the interests of locality. Each
of these separately constituted bodies have their special powers and
functions which are sharply defined, but they meet and act together
as the city council, the organ of municipal sovereignty, whose de-
terminations are final and conclusive. The mayor presides, but he
has only his own vote, and has no veto power. He does not even
appoint the committees, that being the province of the ward repre-
[208]
Principles of Municipal Organisation 15
sentatives ; but the mayor is ex officio a member of the board of con-
trollers and of every committee. The controllers, as representatives
of the community as a vv^hole are the medium through which the
reports of council committee are submitted to the city council, and
the recommendations of the controllers form the subject of legis-
lative action. All appointments to office in the service of the cor-
poration are made by the nomination of the mayor and controllers
subject to the approval of the city council. At every point in the or-
ganization of the city government the executive and legislative func-
tions, while separate and distinct in constitution, are connected so
that they operate as a reciprocal control. While the means by
which the executive authority and the legislative authority is sepa-
rately constituted varies in dififerent countries, the usual English
and Swiss practice being to form the executive administration
through the action of the legislative body, yet the two functions are
always sharply distinguished and separately constituted, but are at
the same time invariably connected.
In the United States the authority of the mayor is not only
separate and distinct from that of the legislative branch, but is alto-
gether disconnected by being made also a separate organ of govern-
ment. The legislative authority is embodied in the city council, or-
ganized as a separate organ of government. In many cities it is
divided into two branches so that one may be a check upon the other,
and a further check is provided by giving the mayor a veto over the
acts of the city council. It is frequently the case that such offices as
those of treasurer and controller are separately constituted and in-
dependently organized. The process of separate organization is in
some cases — as, for instance, in Ohio municipal corporations — car-
ried out to such an extent that important branches of executive au-
thority, such as police control, fire department administration, and
the management of public works, are separately embodied.
The Viezvs of the Fathers
The essential difference between the two systems in organic
principle is not in the separate constitution of dififerent powers of
government, but in the fact that one system connects them while the
other disconnects them. Is it contrary to the principles of the separa-
tion of powers to connect them ? It is generally assumed that it is.
While the point was not considered in the discussion attending the
[209]
i6 The Annals of the American Academy
adoption of the programme of the National Municipal League, the
tone of the discussion and the recommendations made assume that
this principle requires the embodiment of executive and legislative
authority in separate organs of government. Nevertheless, there is
conclusive evidence that no such assumption was made by the
framers of the Constitution of the United States, and, indeed, that it
is contrary to their ideas of the meaning of the principle of the sepa-
ration of the powers. Their ideas are not to be inferred from the
relations between the executive and the legislative departments as
they now stand in our national government, for, as is well known to
students of our constitutional history, they contemplated a much
closer connection than that which now exists. It fortunately happens
that this very point was discussed in the Federalist. In numbers 47
and 48 Madison argues that the principle of the separation of powers
" does not require that the legislative, executive, and judiciary de-
partments should be wholly unconnected with each other." Not
content with this negative statement of the case, he goes on to say
that " unless these departments be so far connected and blended as to
give to each a constitutional control over the others, the degree of
separation which the maxim requires, as essential to a free govern-
ment, can never in practice be duly maintained." The profound
truth of this observation is conspicuously attested by the present
condition of government in this country. Any one possessing in-
sight into actual conditions knows that executive and legislative
functions are not really separate in practice. Members of legisla-
ture and city councils habitually extort surrender to them of execu-
tive function, especially as regards appointments to office, and are
enabled to do so because the executive department, being discon-
nected from the legislative department, has no way of securing con-
sideration of public business save by the favor of members. The
same is true as regards the national government also, but presiden-
tial authority is a force of such high tension that it tends to establish
a regular connection although subject to interruptions which cause
jarring vibrations through the whole frame of government. The
connection is, however, sufficiently constant to preserve the national
government from the system of boss control which is the natural
adjunct of state and municipal government. When those functions
of government whose concerted action is essential to administration
are connected, there is no room for the boss system, and it has never
[210]
Principles of Municipal Organization ly
been developed under such circumstances. The conditions are such
that actual control can be developed only inside the formal consti-
tution of government and not outside of it. Hence in the municipal
institutions of other countries having fairly representative institu-
tions there appears, instead of the irresponsible boss ruling from the
outside by comliinations of class interest, the responsible leader basing
his control upon the support of public opinion. The variation in the
practical application of the principle of separate powers which has
such disastrous results in the United States, so far from being con-
stitutional doctrine, is the result of departure from it, and the con-
sequence has been just as Madison predicted, — the destruction of
constitutional separation in actual practice.
The Psychological Basis
Let us now proceed to consider the principle itself, to see
whether analysis of its nature will enable us to determine how it
should be construed. Professor Goodnow has suggested that it has
a psychological foundation. He says :
" It is a distinction based upon a sound psychology. In the
case of a single sentient being the will must be formulated, if not
expressed, before its execution is possible. In the case of political
bodies, which are more and more coming to be recognized as sub-
ject to psychological law, not only must the will or policy be fomiu-
lated before it can be executed, but also the very complexity of their
operations makes it almost impossible to intrust the same authority
as well with the execution as with the determination of the public
policy." ^
Following out this line of reasoning, which is extremely valu-
able and suggestive. Professor Goodnow distinguishes between the
formation of policy, which he regards as the legislative function, and
the execution of policy or the administration function, and he con-
cludes that these two functions should be separately constituted in
any proper organization of government. " The failure to distinguish
legislation from administration" he considers to be the root of
trouble in our municipal institutions. The proper connection of
these functions is not considered, but the subject is treated in a way
which assumes that separation means also disconnection. This as-
1 A Municipal Programme. The Macmillaii Co., page 74.
2 [2III
i8 The Annals of the American Academy
sumption, moreover, affects the statement of psychological prin-
ciple which appears to have been unconsciously warped to fit the
case. If we consider the volitional process it will be seen that while
there is a separation of function it is not exactly such as Professor
Goodnow has delineated. A man sees something he would like to
buy, doubts whether he can afford it, decides to gratify his inclina-
tion, and makes the purchase. The totality of his action is made up
of volitional and inhibitory impulses, but his resolution and the exe-
cution thereof are both stages of volition. The will participates in
what Professor Goodnow designates as the policy-forming function,
which, psychologically speaking, is not a function at all, but a process
in which the volitional and inhibitory impulses participate in conjunc-
tion. The distinction suggested by psychological law is not between
administration and legislation, but between administration and con-
trol, corresponding to the volitional and inhibitory functions of
mental activity, and as those functions meet together in determina-
tions of conduct, so administration and control should be connected
in legislation.
If the organization of municipal government outside of the
United States be examined, it will be found that it conforms to these
psychological principles. Administration and control are separately
constituted, but meet together in the city council. In practice, ad-
ministrative experience furnishes the legislative impulse. The or-
gans of administration conceive and mature the legislative proposals,
a process conforming to the psychological law that perception is de-
veloped through the agency of special organs. The administration
submits its legislative proposals to the city council, representing the
function of control, assists deliberation by explanation and advice,
and thus determinations of conduct are reached in strict conformity
to psychological law, through the interaction of the volitional and in-
hibitory functions.
We have all about us illustrations of the same principle in the
business world. There administration and control are invariably
connected, distinguished as the management and the directory, which
meet in determination of policy. It is the function of the manage-
ment to plan the operations of the concern as well as execute them,
subject to the approval of the board of directors. Is it a question of
entering a new field, adopting new processes, enlarging the plant,
providing fresh capital ? The management conceives and formulates
[212]
Principles of Municipal Organization 19
the measures and submits them to the board of directors for ap-
proval. What may be called the legislative initiative of the manage-
ment is justly regarded as its most important and valuable function.
If, however, the organic connection of the separately consti-
tuted functions of administration and control is a principle founded
upon psychological law, it must be immutable in its operation,
whether or not it be recognized or provided for in the intentional
structure of government. Although the generic type of American
municipal institutions violates that principle, yet if the principle is
sound the actual operations of government should conform to it.
That is invariably what we do see if able to see things as they really
are. The vital principle of the boss system is that it furnishes this
connection between the executive and legislative departments. It has
grown up in satisfaction of practical necessities of government, and
it is peculiar to our institutions because they disconnect what must
in some way or another be joined in carrying on administration.
This is the secret of the normal tendency of municipal government
towards corruption ; it is so constituted that it cannot be carried on
without corruption. In the national government this tendency is
mitigated by the fact that executive authority has escaped the dis-
integration to which it has been subjected in State and municipal
government. Functions which in the latter are separately consti-
tuted are in the national government united in one executive author-
ity, making it so massive that it attracts legislative initiative despite
the formal disconnection, and " the policy of the administration" is
ordinarily the informing principle of legislative activity, but in this
field also defect of regular connection is the source of continual evil.
The Course of Improvement
In further illustration of the operation of this principle despite
failure to recognize it, observe that such reforms of municipal gov-
ernment as have resulted in real improvement have really connected
the executive and legislative powers. The New York and Balti-
more city charters are typical examples of this process. Both the
formulation of public policy and the execution of public policy have
been concentrated in the executive department which fixes the tax
levy, frames the appropriations, determines the conditions and terms
of legislative grants, and in general decides ,upon ways and means.
A pretence is made of retaining the usual disconnection through the
[213I
20 The Annals of the American Academy
separate organization of the city council, but it has become an
atrophied organ of government. While there is a formal reference
to the city council of the determinations of the governing body,
yet its authority is so reduced that all it amounts to is a limited veto
power. It has become the practice of the New York city council to
treat its authority frankly as such, allowing appropriations to be-
come law by lapse of the time in which the city council has power to
act, and interfering only for the purpose of negativing some par-
ticular appropriation when exertions of political influence tempo-
rarily energize council proceedings. The practical benefits of the
system causes its violation of traditional theory to be ignored. The
enormous gains it makes for the public in the granting of franchises
has excited general notice and has stirred up angry agitations for
like benefits in other cities, which, however, they will never secure
until they adopt like methods. These gains are essentially economies
introduced by dispensing with the boss and the machine as the basis
of administrative connection. By abolishing their office, its emolu-
ments have been turned into the public treasury. There is, how-
ever, a principle of evil still at work, in that the system, although
a vast improvement over the old one, aggrandizes the administra-
tive function at the expense of the function of control, which, lack-
ing adequate expression in the organs of government, tends to pass
outside of them to become part of the inorganic mass of public
opinion, confused with popular prejudice and ignorance, operating
blindly and spasmodically upon the conduct of government, and
exposing it to violent alternations in character and tendency.
Summary of Conclusions Reached
In view of all these considerations, we must conclude that the
truly remarkable thing about American institutions of government
is not that they work so badly as that they should work so well.
Owing to misconceptions which have hardened into political super-
stition our institutions have been subjected to conditions violating
principles of government universally recognized and usually cor-
rectly applied except in the administration of public affairs. That
with such defective organization a tolerable degree of administra-
tive efficiency has been secured, is the strongest possible proof of
the great capacity of American character. This opinion is corrob-
orated by the weighty authority of Bagehot, whose writings evince
[214]
Principles of Municipal Organization 21
a rare combination of business sagacity and political insight. He
remarked : " The Americans now extol their institutions, and so
defraud themselves of their due praise; but if they had not a
genius for politics, if they had not a moderation in action singularly
curious where superficial speech is so violent, if they had not a re-
gard for laws such as no great people have yet evinced, and in-
finitely surpassing ours, the multiplicity of authorities in the Ameri-
can constitution would long ago have brought it to a bad end." ^
The particular reference is to the organization of the national gov-
ernment, but it applies to all our institutions of government. The
chief agency of the moderating influence which makes actual re-
sults endurable is that very spirit of commercialism against which
sentimentalists are in the habit of inveighing. It establishes con-
nections of interest which enfold the organs of government, and
while it imparts to government a plutocratic character it interposes
defences against disorder. When our institutions are imitated by
countries in which the spirit of commercialism is not sufficiently de-
veloped to acquire political ascendency, chronic disorder is the result.
In this way our political example has been a source of immense
mischief in the politics of Central and South America. For the
same reason, municipal institutions of the American type introduced
into Porto Rico and the Philippines, where the commercial spirit is
not strong and masterful enough to govern by corruption, will tend
to generate fraud and violence as their political adjimcts. This may
be asserted with the certainty of scientific deduction.
The results of our extended inquiry may be summarized as
follows : The bad operation of American municipal government is
due not to defect of popular character, but to defect in the organiza-
tion of government. The organic defect lies in the fact that the
executive and legislative departments, in addition to being separately
constituted, are also disconnected, and this very disconnection has
prevented in practice the degree of separation in their functions
which their integrity requires, a consequence precisely what Madison
predicted if separate powers are not duly connected in their opera-
tion. The remedy is therefore to be found in establishing a proper
connection between the executive and the legislative organs of gov-
ernment, so as to make the functions of administration and con-
trol coextensive. No arrangement can secure this short of one
- The English Constitution. Walter Ragehot. Chapter VIH.
[215]
22 The Annals of the American Academy
which gives the executive department complete legislative initia-
tive, and at the same time secures to tlie legislative department com-
plete supervision over all administrative transactions. If this be
accomplished, nominal relations or divisions are unimportant.
A Municipal Programme
The practical question now presents itself. How are correct
principles of organization to be applied to municipal government?
Government is a living thing, whose growth may be conditioned
but not determined by statute. All that can be beneficially attempted
is to introduce correct principles of organic activity, and these should
be as simple as possible and should innovate as little as possible.
Existing material should be utilized, and surprising as the state-
ment may seem, considering the usual clamor against politicians,
displacement of existing political interests should be avoided. If
the principles of organization are sound, their ordinary operation
will gradually purge conditions and supplant irresponsible boss rule
by responsible leadership. The following is a sketch plan, having
in view the division of the city council into two branches, which is a
common feature of municipal organization in the United States :
The second branch should be elected at large.
All business requiring the concurrent action of both branches
should be transacted in joint convention. The ma3'or, or such per-
son as he may designate for the purpose, should preside. Such
officers of the city government as the mayor may designate from
time to time, or whose presence shall be requested by the city council,
should attend the sessions, with the right to address the chair.
The mayor should have the power to introduce measures and
fix a time at which the vote shall be taken, and when that time has
arrived the city council should not be capable of transacting any
other business until the vote has been taken and recorded.
No appropriation should be made except upon the recommenda-
tion of the mayor, save by a two-thirds majority of the city council.
Any measure proposing an expenditure of public money or the
performance of any executive act, before consideration by the city
council should be referred to the executive department concerned
for a report upon its advisability.
No measure proposing a grant of the use of the streets or other
public propertv should be considered bv the city council until it has
[216] '
Principles of Municipal Organisation 23
been referred to the executive department, which shall give public
notice of a hearing in regard to it, and after diligently seeking in-
formation as to the value of the grant, shall report upon the same
to the city council, fixing the terms and conditions, which shall not
be altered except with the consent of the executive department.
No ordinance should be considered by the city council until
the draft has been approved by the law department of the city gov-
ernment, and any amendment by the city council should be put in
the form of instructions to the law department to embody the de-
sired change in the draft of the ordinance.
The scheme separately constitutes executive authority, general
representation, and particular representation, and connects them in
the transaction of public business. It is a common practice now to
require certain business to be acted upon in joint convention. The
greatest innovation is that of making the mayor the presiding officer,
but that seems necessary in order to connect executive and legisla-
tive authority, without which the function of control is impoverished.
It would probably be resisted as an inordinate increase of executive
authority, but in reality it will add to the responsibilities rather than
to the powers of the mayor. The head of the executive department
is from the nature of its function an essential branch of the legis-
lature, and should be dealt with as such. This was well understood
and distinctly stated by the fathers. In the article of the Federalist
already quoted from concerning the separation of the powers, Madi-
son explains that it is violated only " wdien the whole power of one
department is exercised by the same hands which possess the whole
power of another department," and as showing that the new federal
institution is not open to that charge he remarks : " The entire legis-
lature can exercise no executive prerogative, though one of its
branches constitutes the supreme executive magistracy." That is to
say, the president is a branch of the legislature. In tlie same way,
the mayor is a branch of the legislature, and municipal conditions
are such that unless he is plainly exposed as such, and connected
with the city council as an integral part, his authority is not subject
to proper control. This is the defect in the New York City and
Baltimore charter scheme, putting the city council out of touch with
the city government. The council should be a deliberative body,
and that its discussions shall have pertinence and effect it should be
confronted by the executive department, just as in all business or-
[217]
24 The Annals of the American Academy
ganization the general management meets with the board of di-
rectors in arriving at determinations decisive of administrative
policy. In cities where the city council is but a single body, the
mayor and other administrative officers elected upon a general ticket
embody the principle of general representation, and should sit as
part of the city council.
The scheme is a demarcation of functions based upon the prin-
ciples of organization which have been discussed, but it may be
noticed that the main provisions resemble those contained in the
organization of boards of estimate and control, such as advanced
municipal charters now provide, but the resemblance is due simply
to the fact that those charters have approximated correct principles
of organization in devising practical expedients to reach and correct
abuses. The organic principles arc the same as those upon which
municipal government in Sv^-itzerland, England, and the various
British Commonwealths is founded. Mention of appointments to
office is intentionally omitted, as that matter will take care of itself
under nearly any method, provided sound principles of organiza-
tion are introduced into the government. Every system works
badly now, because the real power of appointment is taken over by
members of the city council who are in a position to exact sub-
mission as the price of the co-operation of legislative activity with
administrative requirements. But when the administration has a
direct and open connection with legislation, so that members can
always be confronted with a public responsibility, there is no induce-
ment for such prostitution of executive patronage, and other con-
siderations will govern appointments to office. Moreover, the separa-
tion of the powers of government will be such that about all that
members of the city council will find to do is to examine and criti-
cise executive acts, or in other words they will exercise the func-
tion of control in its integrity. When a vacancy occurs and council-
men are so situated that they cannot get the filling of it, they will
be apt to see that whoever does fill it has a good title. Influences
are set in operation which raise the standard of public service, even
without any special safeguards such as civil service regulations pro-
vide. For instance, in Toronto the municipal service is not under
civil service rules, but on the contrary it is distinctly provided by
law that all appointed officers of the city government " shall be
deemed to hold their respective offices during pleasure ;" nor " shall
[218]
Principles of Municipal Organization 25
any person be appointed or hold any office or employment for any
fixed time." In practice, however, official employment is permanent
during good behavior, and vacancies rarely occur. On the other
hand a municipal government in which executive authority is con-
fined by civil service regulation is in a desperate plight when " graft"
has worked into the public service. The dykes raised against cor-
ruption now serve to keep it in, baffling endeavors to expel it. The
President of the United States can cut the dykes if necessary, since
civil service regulations are simply rules laid, down by executive
authority and he can alter or amend them in his discretion, but
municipal executive authority has no such power.
It should be observed that the introduction of these principles
of organization will work no sudden cure, although they will cause
immediate improvement. They are not a drug or a physic, acting
as a specific against corruption as quinine acts upon malarial fever,
but they change conditions in such a way as to affect the practical
conduct of government. In adapting themselves to the new condi-
tions political interests will naturally prefer men who can cope with
the new responsibilities. Thus the system will exercise both a pre-
ventive and a remedial operation, gradually excluding politicians
of the old type and substituting a new type. Corruption will be
gradually eliminated and the tone of the administration will be
brought into accord with public sentiment, both as regards moral
purpose and business efficiency. If municipal government did, in
fact, mean, in this country, simply the management of municipal in-
terests, we might expect that in actual practice, under such an organi-
zation of government, the standard of public service would tend to
become rather higher and more exacting than that which exists
in private employment, from the peculiar honor and esteem which
attach to achievement in behalf of the public welfare. But there
are certain limitations arising from the very nature of these prin-
ciples of organization which should be considered.
Limitations upon Municipal Efficiency
In considering the nature of these principles an analysis was
made showing that they were based upon the psychology of voli-
tion. That is to say, an organization of government embodying
these principles provides the collective personality of the community
with fit organs for the expression of its will, but what that will may
[219]
26 The Annals of the American Academy
be is determined b}' the character of the personality. Institutions
are purely instrumental in their operation. Now, if municipal gov-
ernment is simply a business proposition, then participation in it
should be confined to those who have an interest in the business,
just as control of the affairs of a business corporation is vested in
the shareholders. Thus municipal suffrage stands upon a different
foundation from political suft'rage. This is a distinction habitually
recognized in other countries and habitually ignored in the United
States. In Toronto, for instance, the shareholder idea of municipal
suffrage is strictly adhered to, so that in this field there is no dis-
tinction of sex, and a woman, if an individual rate-payer, has a vote
because of that fact, just as a woman who has stock in a business
operation has a vote in the election of its officers. Municipal
suffrage is restricted to owners of real estate, renters of real estate,
and persons paying a tax on incomes assessed at not less than $1200
a year. A man may be earning only laborer's wages, but if he
rents one of the little cottages which may be had for a few dollars
a month in Toronto, he has a vote, but others who may live in the
house, have no vote unless qualified as individual rate-payers. It
will be seen that these restrictions exclude from municipal elections
the herds of voting cattle in which our ward politicians traffic, —
w'hich business is the potent source of the naturalization frauds so
frequently occurring. On the other hand, in all elections to office
under the general government manhood suff'rage prevails, so that
some persons who cannot vote in municipal elections may now vote,
and some persons who may vote in municipal elections cannot now
vote. In the United States questions of representation are not
treated with the care and discrimination which the proper working
of representative institutions requires, and the government of munici-
pal corporations is circumstanced as the government of business
corporations would be if casual interlopers were allowed to vote as
well as shareholders. The strength of this factor of corruption is,
however, I think, usually exaggerated, and even with such in-
equitable conditions of municipal suffrage as generally exist, sound
principles of organization would give a healthy tone to local gov-
ernment.
A far more serious condition remains to be considered, in-
volving interests of greater importance even than integrity of ad-
ministration in municipal affairs. The essential function of a mu-
[220]
Principles of Municipal Organization 27
nicipal corporation is business administration; it has no more direct
connection with pohtics than any other corporation. Civil rights
emanate from State authority, and their protection devolves upon
State authority. In order that the exercise of the police power of
the State shall be in sympathetic accord with the needs and aspira-
tions of the community, it is necessary that it shall in some effective
way be connected with municipal administration. This is usually ac-
complished elsewhere by providing for municipal representation in the
organization and direction of the police force, but State control is
never surrendered, and is usually established as a branch of judicial
authority. For instance, in Toronto the board of police commission-
ers is composed of the presiding judge of the judicial district, the
presiding judge of the police court, and the mayor by virtue of his
office. Thus the control always rests with an independent, perma-
nent judiciary, but the city government is in a position to supervise
expenditure and express its views, to which great weight is given by
the fact that the city pays the bills, so that the approval and good
will of the municipal authorities are of high importance. In or-
ganization and control the police force is as detached from politics
as the regular army is in this country. It is a permanent force,
under regular discipline, and thus acquires a professional bearing,
one of the marks of which is the trained civility of behavior which
strikes every visitor to an English community.
In the United States, the State has generally surrendered the
police power to local control, so that municipal elections do not
simply involve the question. How shall your municipal business be
conducted? but also the question. How much enforcement of law
do you want, and will you have hot or cold what you do want?
Hence municipal elections often have very little to do with munici-
pal government, but are really a struggle to reach and use the
police power for some special purpose. Such conditions are full of
incitement to fanaticism on the one hand and vice on the other. The
fanatics will subordinate every other issue to their desire to use the
police power to impose their ideals of conduct upon the community.
At the same time criminals and law-breakers are incited to organize
as a class interest in politics. As that interest is always active, and
since opportunities of minority control over public action now abound,
so that any interest getting control of a council committee or con-
federated with some important administrative office can hold up the
[221]
28 The Annals of the American Academy
public business, it is in a position to extort favor, and hence we have
the institution known as " the pull," or the intervention of political
influence in behalf of privileged ofifenders, often taking the shape of
a systematic protectorate of vice and crime. The stream of corrup-
tion thus generated flows across the field of municipal government
and defiles its character, but its source lies outside, and it cannot be
altogether excluded by measures of municipal scope. All that can
be expected is that its influence will be diminished and the effect
mitigated by a proper organization of municipal government. The
truth is that we are here confronted by a problem of greater magni-
tude, — namely, the general corruption of State authority and the
decay of public justice. Disturbance of municipal administration is
but a minor phase of results from these conditions. Their true
virulence is more clearly manifest in the appalling increase of crime,
the growth of the spirit of lawlessness, and the extent to which
lynch law has superseded the offi.cial administration of justice. To
elucidate tliat problem it would be necessary to trace stage by stage
the decomposition of authority through the multiplication of elective
offices and the abandonment of the judicial functions of government
to local discretion. In a systematic study of cause and eflfect the fact
would appear that the growth of the boss system in State and local
government is as distinctly a reparative process in the social or-
ganism as was the rise of feudalism, both alike conforming to the
same general principles ; but this fascinating field of scientific study
extends beyond the limits of our present subject.
Henry Jones Ford.
Pittsburg, Pa.
>22]
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RECENT CITY GROWTH: THE
ERA OF SMALL INDUSTRIAL CENTRES
I.
When in 1898 New York City annexed the rural regions of
Staten Island and the western end of Long- Island, it afforded the
jokers on the staffs of newspapers published near the foot of Lake
Michigan and the mouth of the Delaware, opportunity for mirth
anent the apprehensions of Father Knickerbocker for his title as
premier among American cities. It certainly did seem curious that
considerable bodies of citizens of the metropolis of the Western hem-
isphere should be farmers and dairymen, for one was not accustomed
to salute the " hayseed" as a city man. And yet the consolidation
was a typical instance of the expansion of American municipalities,
and is finely illustrative of the gradual interpenetration of urban and
rural life that is becoming increasingly characteristic of this country.
Herein lies the reason why the problem of the concentration of
population has with us scarcely any of the national significance that
attaches to it in the crowded countries of Europe. Our census sta-
tistics, indeed, revealed a steadily increasing concentration of popula-
tion occasioned by the necessary growth of commerce and industry.
In fact, American cities have grown even more rapidlv than their
European rivals, and by the very rapidity of their growth have
created municipal problems that are now fairly well recognized.
But these are almost entirely, local problems and have not appeared
in the domain of national politics. With the exception probably of
the immigration problem, no phase of city growth has aroused dis-
cussion in the halls of the national legislature. On the other hand,
we have lately observed in both Germany and England a heated dis-
cussion of the evils of city life that enlisted the talents of eminent
economists and public men. In Germany, the fundamental argu-
ment of the Agrarian party for its policy of extreme Protectionism
was based on the alleged devitalizing effects of city life upon the
national strength and vigor; to preserve which, they maintained,
agriculture, the mainstay of a vigorous soldiery, must be made more
[223]
30 The Annals of the American Academy
profitable by means of high tarifif duties. In England, national pride
was touched to the quick by the decadence of its soldiery revealed in
the successive reductions of the physical standards for recruits for
the South African war. The decadence was all but universally
attributed to city life, which has become the lot of the vast majority
of the British masses.
In the United States it would require an unusually close ob-
server to detect more than a trace of the fierce denunciation that in
Gennany and England has been heaped upon a public policy which
allows the concentration of population, by migration from country
to city, to go on unhindered. The obvious explanation of the different
attitude which Americans assume towards the question is that con-
centration in this country has not reached the point where it threat-
ens the national vigor; less than one-third of our population is
concentrated in cities, while in England the proportion of city
dwellers is two out of every three inhabitants. The explanation is,
however, inadequate; for in Germany the proportion of urbanites
is very little larger than that in the United States. The truer ex-
planation is, that owing to the construction of American cities, urban
life in this country is less destructive of bodily vigor than is the
urban life of Europe. That is to say, the congestion of London,
which in slightly lesser degree is reproduced in the other cities of
Britain and Europe, is not characteristic of American urban centres.
In 1890 the 28 leading cities of the United States housed 9,700,000
people on 638,000 acres, while 22 English cities housed nearly as
many (8,800,000) on almost one-third the area (231,000 acres). The
density of population in the American cities was 15 per acre, of the
English cities 38 per acre, and of 15 principal German cities 25 per
acre.^ The contrast between Europe and America appears also in
the following table of areas of a few metropolitan centres of nearly
equal rank:
EUROPE UNITED STATES
City. Acreage. City. Acreage.
London 74,692 New York 208,640
Paris 19,295 Chicago 102,765
Berlin 15,661 Philadelphia 82,807
Liverpool 5,210 St. Louis 39,^76
Manchester 12,788 Boston 24.231
' Social Statistics of Cities, Eleventh Census, p. 14.
[224]
The Significance of Recent City Grozvth 31
In each instance the European city has the larger population,
while the American city has much the greater area. It is clear that
" concentration of population" signifies something slightly different
in the United States from what it means in Europe. Only in ex-
ceptional cases does it on this side of the ocean connote the con-
gestion that gives English and Continental statesmen so much con-
cern. The public papers of the chief executive of New York State
have at times portrayed heartrending conditions in the tenement
houses of New York City, but they have never assumed the tone of
Lord Rosebery's address as chairman of the London County Council
in 1891. " There is no thought of pride associated in my mind with
the idea of London. . . . Sixty years ago a great Englishman, Cob-
bett, called it a wen. If it was a wen then, what is it now ? A tumor,
an elephantiasis sucking into its gorged system half the life and the
blood and the bone of the rural districts."
And the recent investigations of Mr. Rowntree in the city of
York have shown that London's poverty and helplessness are par-
alleled in the provincial cities of England.
II.
The crowding in European cities is a sign that media^valism is
not yet outgrown. Until modern times city and country were clearly
separated one from the other, — and by walls of solid masonry. The
classic words urban and rural emphasize the distinction, — the com-
munity walled in from the surrounding fields. The nineteenth cen-
tury busied itself with developing the means of transportation that
brought into the cities greater masses of business and population
than the walls could contain ; and the walls had to go down. But
in Europe the improvement in transportation methods halted for a
time before it had completed the destruction of the line between city
and country. That line was still maintained by the necessity under
which city people lived of being within easy reach of their work;
they could not dwell out in the open country and carry on work in
the city.
But in the United States the railroad had scarcely begun to
build up large cities before it developed auxiliary lines which per-
mitted the cities to expand over a wide territory. The horse-car,
followed by the electric car, carried the workers from segregated
[225]
32 The Annals of the American Academy
factories and shops to their detached houses. Hence the character-
istic differences between the widely extended American city and the
compact city of foreign countries that have been backward in estab-
Hshing the newer means of locomotion. Hence in the United States,
at the present time, one of the most embarrassing problems that con-
fronts the statistician is to draw the line between urban and rural
populations. What is the real distinction? The most obvious one
is the fact of agglomeration, or grouping. A Massachusetts town
(a territorial subdivision of the county) may have a population of
20,000 persons, and still be wholly agricultural and rural, if the
town is large in area and the inhabitants dwell in isolated houses.
But if some of them dwell in groups they form a community or
agglomeration. Legally, the group becomes urban as soon as it is
incorporated. But is an incorporated place of two or three hundred
people a city? If not, how large a population must it have before
we call it a city? The answer must be an arbitrary one, and as a
matter of fact there is as yet no agreement among citizens or law-
makers. In some parts of the country a place witli a population of
less than 2,000 is called a city. In New York the legislature rarely
incorporates a city until it has a population of eight or ten thousand
people. In Massachusetts the limit is still higher. Government
statisticians at home and abroad are likew-ise unable to come to an
agreement. Our own census authorities offer the alternatives of
2,500, 4,000, and 8,000, as the line of demarcation between urban and
rural populations. For reasons elsewhere set forth,- the present
writer prefers to draw the line at. 10,000 and make a separate class
of villages and towns under that limit, thus :
Rural Population Scattered.
ViLLAGK Incorporated places with a population under 10, coo.
/ Incorporated places with a population of 10,000 or
I more.
Large Citv Population of 100,000 or more.
Urban a
'- more.
The difference between a rural and a village population is easily
recognized. The strictly rural population is scattered over the fields,
as etymology indicates, and each household constitutes an economic
unit, — even if the farm-houses be grouped together in hamlets as in
2 In Ihe Iiilroductioii to llie "Growth of Cities."
[226]
The Significance of Recent City Growth 33
Europe. It is not until the hamlet becomes so thickly populated as
to necessitate communal action for securing a supply of untainted
water, disposing of wastes, and caring for streets, sidewalks, etc.,
that the "four-corners" post-office seeks incorporation as a village.
Villagers are merchants and traders, hence do not belong to the
rural population. And yet usage is essentially correct in classing the
rural and village population together under the term " country" in
opposition to " city ;" for village life is homogeneous even as rural
life is homogeneous. Every villager knows all of his fellow-
villagers; and there is no escape from the domination of village
opinion. It is only when the community becomes too large for every
member to be his fellow-citizen's neighbor that the provincialism
of rural life begins to break down and give place to the liberality
of cities. The psychological effect of the mental freedom that is
assured by cities to the individual swallowed up in the mass is far-
reaching, but is too familiar to justify elaboration here. It will
suffice to say that the statistical boundary line between village neigh-
borliness and city independence seems to be fairly marked by the
10,000 population limit, as virtually recognized in the legislation of
New York and other commonwealths. Finally the characteristics of
city life appear so conspicuously in large cities that there is justifica-
tion for the formation of a special class of cities of 100,000 popula-
tion and upward. As a matter of fact, this is the only boundary
line between municipalities that is uniformly recognized in the census
reports of all governments. Abroad much of the current discussion
of municipal problems is confined to cities of this class, — die Gross-
stadt of the Germans, la grande ville of the French.^
III.
The distribution of population in the United States within the
several classes of communities described above is disclosed, as nearly
as may be, in the following summary table :*
3 Cf. the monograph of Dr. Paul Meuriot, Des Agglomerations Urbaines (1897), and the col-
lection of addresses delivered at the Dresden City E.xposition in 1902 ; Die Grosstadt is the title of
the collection, which includes the following papers: Biicher, Large Cities in the Past and Present ;
Ratzel, The Geographical Situation of Large Cities ; v. Mayer, The Population of the Large Cities ;
Waentig, The Economic Significance of the Large Cities; Simmel, The Large Cities and Mental
Development ; Petermann, The Spiritual Significance of the Large Cities ; Schaefer, The Political
and Military Significance of the Large Cities.
■* Twelfth Census, vol. i. pp. Iviii-lxxx.
3 [227]
34 The Annals of the American Academy
Ratio of each
Percentage class to whole
Number of Persons. increase, population.
1890
1900
8.9
58.5
53
36.9
13.0
14
13-9
71-5
67
27.2
13.0
14
46.5
15-5
19
1890 1900
Countrv f Rural population. . .36,890,793 40,184,365
' ''" \ \MIlage population* 8,143,027 11,145,807
Total 45,033,820 51,330,172
(^jj^. ( Small city t 8,215,934 10,456,056
' (. Large city i 9,697,960 14,208,347
Total 17,913,894 24,664,403 43.3 28.5 33
United States 62,947,714 75,994,575 20.7 100 100
* Incorporated places having a population of less than 8,000.
+ Incorporated places having a population of 8,000 to 100,000.
I Incorporated places having a population of more than 100,000.
At the latest census about one in five of all the persons enumer-
ated in continental United States resided in the large cities. An
additional 14 per cent, dwelt in small cities, thus bringing about one-
third of the population into the class of city dwellers. Another 14
per cent, dwelt in villages, i.e., incorporated places of less than 8,000,
while somewhat more than one-half the population lived outside the
cities and villages and constituted the strictly rural population.^ This
country, it appears, cannot yet be grouped with the countries whose
population is predominantly urban. At the preceding census, how-
ever, the rural population constituted a much larger proportion of
the entire population; in 1890, the country districts contained 71.5
per cent, of the whole population. But of the 13,000,000 increase in
the last decade, the country districts contributed not 71.5 per cent.,
but less than 50 per cent., — in round numbers 6,300,000 as compared
with a gain of 6,700,000 for the cities.
The decline of the rural population and the disproportionate
increase of the city population cannot be attributed off-hand either
to a larger excess of births in the cities or to the migration of
countrymen into the cities. In a territory in which there was an in-
creasing population but no migration whatever, and not a single city,
we should see a relative decline in the rural population brought about
by the growth of villages into cities. In 1890, the first year men-
"The number would be somewhat diminished if the unincorporated communities within New
England townships were to be classed with the similar, but incorporated, places of other States, in
the urban group. The only incorporated places in Massachusetts are the cities, villages having
no legal entity of their own.
[228]
ir Population.
Percentage
1890
1900
1880-90 1890-1900
39,893,236
45,411,164
14. 1
13.8
1,619,308
2,211,019
44-4
36.5
2,524,986
3,380,193
45.8
33-9
4,029,929
5,273,887
51-2
30.9
4,177,671
5,509,965
59-3
31-9
10,702,584
14,208,347
46.0
32.8
62,947,714
75,994,575
24.9
20.7
The Significance of Recent City Growth 35
tioned in the preceding table, there were only 28 large cities, while in
1900 there were 38 such cities. An increase in population no greater
than that in the rural districts might have sufficed to raise the 10
additional cities from the lower to the higher class. Hence, in order
to determine whether the cities do as a matter of fact grow more
rapidly than the villages or country districts, it becomes necessary to
institute a comparison between a definite number of cities, as below :^
Number
Limits of population in 1900. of
towns
Country :
Rural, and places under 2,500 ....
Places, 2,500 to 4,000 704
" 4,000 " 8,000 612
City:
Places, 8,000 to 25,000 385
" 25,000 " 100,000 122
" 100,000 or more 38
United States 1,861
The table clearly shows that the rural districts had a very slow
rate of increase in both decades, when compared with the urban rates
of increase. The striking fact brought out in the table, however, is
the remarkable growth of the villages and smaller cities in the last
decade. In the decade 1880 to 1890 the most rapidly growing places
were the 122 medium-sized cities (from 25,000 to 100,000 popula-
tion in 1900), but since then the 704 towns or cities having a popula-
tion in 1900 of 2,500 to 4,000 have wrested the lead away from the
larger cities. Places over 4,000 have had a remarkably uniform rate
of increase since 1890. Of the 38 large cities the decennial rate of
increase was largest for the three great cities that have a population
of more than 1,000,000, namely 38 per cent.; the next three largest
cities (St. Louis, Boston, and Baltimore) averaged 23.3 per cent.
increase; the five having a population of 300,000 to 500,000 (Cleve-
land, Buffalo, San Francisco, Cincinnati, and Pittsburg) averaged
27.6 per cent. ; the eight in the class 200,000-300,000, 28.5 per cent. ;
and the remaining nineteen cities of 100,000 or more, 33.4 per cent.
Of the 19 cities of 200,000 or upward only 6 (New York, Chicago,
^ Census Bulletin, No. 4 (1903), p. 32.
[229]
36 The Annals of the American Academy
Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, and Milwaukee) had a higher rate of
increase than the villages of from 2,500 to 4,000 inhabitants; and
of tlie 19 cities of from 100,000 to 200,000 population, only eight.
It is a significant fact that five of the six most rapidly growing
cities in the first class are situated on the Great Lakes, but one can-
not venture an explanation of the causes of the growth of certain
cities without further details. Below are listed all of the cities of
25,000 or more inhabitants which gained more than 60 per cent, in the
last decade :
Rank as to
rate of growth.
Percentage
City. Rank as to size. Population. in increase,
1890 to 1900.
31,091
159-5
28,339
144-3
27,838
113.2
27,777
113.2
I South Omaha, Neb 156
2 Butte, Mont 133 ,
3 Joplin, Mo 155
4 Superior, Wis 129
5 Newcastle, Pa 144
6 Atlantic City, N. J 149
7 Passaic, N. J 150
8 Los Angeles, Cal 36 ....
9 St. Joseph, Mo 34 ....
10 East St, Louis, 111 137 29,655 95.5
II Portland, Ore 42 ....
12 Seattle, Wash 48 ....
13 Spokane, Wash 106 ....
14 Easton, Pa 160 25,238 74.3
15 Bayonne, N. J 125 32,722 71.9
16 Honolulu, Hawaii 95 ....
17 Chester, Pa 119 33,398 68.0
18 Jacksonville, Fla 143 28,429 65.3
19 South Bend, Ind no 35,999 65.0
20 McKeesport, Pa 116 34,227 65.0
21 Johnstown, Pa 112 35,93^ 64.8
22 York, Pa 120 33,7o8 62.1
23 Houston, Tex 85 ....
24 Toledo, Ohio 26 131,822 61.9
25 Indianapolis, Ind 21 169,164 60.4 *
26 Waterbury, Conn 81 45,859 60.1
27 Duluth, Minn 72 52,969 60.0
As the growth of cities in new territory is abnormally rapid, it
seems hardly worth while to inquire further as to the causes of their
growth, and the rates of increase of cities west of the Mississippi
River have been omitted. They include 10 of the 27 most rapidly
[230]
The Significance of Recent City Groivth 37
growing municipalities having a population of 25,000 and upward.
Of the remaining 17, nine are in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and
are essentially manufacturing cities, with a population between the
limits of 25,000 and 36,000. Most of the other cities in the list are
industrial centres of about the same size, only two cities (Toledo and
Indianapolis) having more than 60,000 inhabitants. There are eight
more cities that gained more than 50 per cent, in population in 1890-
1900, and nearly all are middle-sized industrial centres of New Eng-
land and New York, Chicago (with a gain of 54.4 per cent.) being
the only large city in the bunch. New York is not included, as its
gain on the present territory was only 37 per cent. Nearly all of
the Pennsylvania cities appearing in the foregoing list annexed some
territory in the decade 1890-1900, but no extension of boundaries
is recorded for the New Jersey cities.
The principal inference to be drawn from the comparison is that
manufacturing industry no longer centres in the great commercial
cities, but is developing smaller cities of its own. The inference is
supported by the census of manufactures, which demonstrates that,
wdiereas in the decade 1880-90 the number of factory wage-earners
in the 100 principal cities increased at a rate far above the. average,
in the decade 1890 to 1900 the increase in these cities was only 14.2
per cent, as against a gain of 37.4 per cent, outside. Hence the share
of the large cities in manufacturing industry has declined, as shown
below :
Population. Wage Earners. Value of
. Man'fd products.
1890 1900
100 large cities (more than
38.000 population each) . . 21.0 22.8
64 smaller cities (20,000-
38,000) 2.8 3-2
Remainder of United States 76.2 74.0
890
1900
1890
1900
54-3
497
60.0
52.6
7.0
7-1
6.9
7A
38.7
43-2
33- 1
40.0
United States 100 100 100 100 100 100
The table clearly reveals the movement of manufacturing in-
dustry away from the large cities. The smaller cities barely held
their own, while the substantial gains were in the places of less than
20,000 population. Unfortunately the available statistics do not
permit of a classification of these smaller places, in respect of manu-
[231]
38 The Annals of the American Academy
facturing development, but observers of industrial movements know
that the real progress is in villages of from 2,000 to 10,000 popula-
tion. Those who are familiar with the industries of New York
City, for example, understand that innumerable large enterprises
have been compelled by the pressure of high rents to move across
the river into New Jersey, which, with Long Island, is becoming the
factory quarter of the metropolis. The net result of this migration
of industry in the last decade appears in the following table of rates
of increase of the population of tlie different classes of cities, towns,
and villages compiled from Professor Wilcox's' Discussion of In-
crease of Population (Census Bulletin No. 4) :
Percentage rates of increase, 1890 to 1900, of different classes of cities
and villages :
Division. 8 g o 8 6
o o.oo oo oo o
■ r^T) oO- OnO OnO ooo
an .S3
New England 30.1 36.2 26.4 16.1 14.7 *2.o 19.0
N. Y., N. J., and Pa 32.6 33.3 35.5 44.9 45.4 3.4 21.6
Northern South Atlantic . . 18.5 16.4 28.3 39.6 26.7 13.3 15.7
Southern " " 25.0 28.7 52.4 46.6 17.6 19.6
Eastern North Central .... 45.2 31.0 32.1 35.5 36.5 6.1 18.6
Western " " .... 21.9 24.5 20.7 17.4 31.9 13.4 15.8
Eastern South " .... 36.1 19.8 21.9 32.9 48.1 15.5 17.4
Western " " .... 18.6 34.2 38.5 66.1 84.3 37.5 37.8
Rocky Mountain 25.4 66.2 64.7 68.3 64.3 38.6 42.1
Utah, Nevada and Arizona .... 19.4 9.6 35.3 35.3 28.8 27.6
Cal., Ore., and Wash 27.4 55.3 38.1 72.6 24.9 19.2 28.0
U. S 32.8 319 30.9 33-9 36.5 13-8 20.7
* Decrease.
In all but two divisions of the country the highest rate of in-
, crease was in the village population (places with a population be-
1 tween 2,500 and 8,000). The exceptions were the eastern North
Central States (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin),
in which the village growth was overshadowed by the wonderful
development of the great ports on the Lakes, and the New England
States, in which the population classed with the villages is largely
rural owing to the fact that the large territorial division of the town
was adopted by the statistician in the absence of incorporated villages
[232]
77k? Significance of Recent City Growth 39
in the principal States of New England. The township containing
only 2,500 to 8,000 inhabitants will seldom have any considerable
village population,^ and for that reason the above-mentioned low
rates of increase in New England are probably misleading. Con-
ditions there are so similar to those in the other North Atlantic States
that if the requisite data could be obtained they would doubtless re-
veal the same tendencies in the increase of the smaller places.
As fully 70 per cent, of the urban population of the United States
is found in the geographic divisions of the North Atlantic and East-
ern North Central .States, the rates of increase in those divisions
possess the greatest significance. At the same time it is interesting
to note the remarkable development of villages in the Southern
States, where the cotton manufacturing industry has made such rapid
progress in recent years. Southern cotton factories are almost in-
variably located in small towns that are still in the village stage of
development.
To recapitulate : The most rapid rate of increase of population
in the United States is found in the villages or small towns (places
with a population between 2,500 and 8,000), which are chiefly de-
pendent for their prosperity upon manufacturing industry. The
great cities — the centres of trade and commerce — nearly rival the
villages in rate of growth. Moreover, the continual passage of
villages into the ranks of small cities and of small cities into the
class of large cities brings it about that an ever-increasing propor-
tion of the people becorjie residents of the larger cities, in which
political and social problems are of commanding importance. In
the light of these tendencies, what is to be the social policy of a
well-governed commonwealth ?
IV.
Until recent years statesmen assumed that the distribution of
population was a matter to be left to itself, — i.e., to the control of
natural forces. This attitude was admirably set forth by the states-
man-economist who is the present prime minister of Great Britain
in a speech delivered in Parliament in December, 1893 :
" Thus the first two counties in New York, in their alphabetical order, yield the following
contrasts: (i) Albany county— Bethlehem town, 4,226; Colonic town, 7,055; Coeynian town,
3,952, no villages; Green Island town, 4,770, village population, 4,770; Guilderland town, 3,530,
village population, 689; New Scotland town, 3,058, village population, 554. (2) Allegany county—
Wellsville town, 4,981, village population, 3,556.
[233]
?
40 The Annals of the American Academy
" Do not let any member," he said, " suppose that if agriculture
were as prosperous now as it was twenty years ago, or as the dreams
of the greatest dreamer of dreams would make it, you could by any
possibility stop this emigration from the country. It depends upon
causes and natural laws which no laws we can pass can permanently
modify. The plain fact is that in a rural district there is and can be
only one investment for capital and only one employment for labor.
When prosperity in agriculture increases, immigration into towns
diminishes, no doubt ; but however prosperous agriculture may be,
a normal point must be reached when no more capital can be applied
to the land and no more labor can be applied, and when you have
reached that point it does of necessity happen that if marriages occur
with the frequency with which they occur at the present time, and if
families are as large as they are at the present time, there must be
an emigration from the country to the town, from the place where
there is only one kind of employment of labor, strictly limited by
the natural capacity of the soil, to another place where there is no
limit whatever to the employment of labor, except the limit set by the
amount of capital seeking investment and the amount of labor
capable of taking advantage of that capital."
With the premises assumed, no fault can be found in a policy
of hisses- f aire based on the foregoing argument. But the speaker
failed to understand the natural forces that even as he spoke were
transferring a branch of industry co-ordinate with agriculture from
the large cities to villages and small places with only semi-urban
characteristics. With a well-developed system of transportation,
large factories will avoid the high rents of commercial centres and
seek thinly populated localities. Herein lies the opportunity of pro-
gressive statesmanship for planning a healthy environment of the
industrial population. Instead of permitting "cities to grow up hap-
hazard, following the lines marked out by cow-paths (and in after
years rectifying the mistake by enormous expenditures for wider
and straighter streets or underground subways, as Paris, Boston, and
other great cities have done), the men who plan the Pullmans, Wil-
merdings, Schenectadys, Solvays, and greater cities of the future
will demand the latest word of science regarding the proper dis-
position of streets, parks, factories, houses, and stores for the pro-
curement of unlimited amounts of light and air. We have learned
tliat the packing of human beings into tenement barracks devoid of
[234]
The SignHicance of Recent City Groivth 41
light and air is not due to the necessity of any natural law, but to the
greed of man. The city, even the largest city, can now be made as
healthful as the country, because cheap rapid transit enables city
workers to live many miles away from their work-places.
To make transit cheap as well as rapid requires, however, a strict
control of franchise privileges by the public authorities. Laissea-
faire is wholly out of place in modern civic policy. In contrast with
Mr. Balfour's views may be recorded the more modern attitude as
described by Dr. Albert Shaw :
" The present evils of city life are temporary and remediable.
The abolition of the slums and the destruction of their virus are as
feasible as the drainage of a swamp and the total dissipation of its
miasmas. The conditions and circumstances that surround the lives
of the masses of people in modern cities can be so adjusted to their
needs as to result in the highest development of the race, in body, in
mind, and in moral character. The so-called problems of the modern
city are but the various phases of the one main question. How can
the environment be most perfectly adapted to the welfare of urban
populations? And science can meet and answer every one of these
problems."
These words occur in the introduction of an extended account
of the ways in which British cities are adjusting environment to
needs instead of permitting environment to determine the conditions
of life.® Since they were written, municipal co-operation has won
great triumphs in England, but the greatest triumph of all seems to
be in store for the " Garden Cities" planned by Ebenezer Howard, a
prominent London stenographer. It is several years since Mr.
Howard set forth his plan in a little book entitled " To-Morrow :
A Peaceful Path to Real Reform." ^ The scheme is a combination of
three ideas made familiar by other writers. An organized migratory
movement of population (Wakefield) ; the system of land tenure
first proposed by Thos. Spence ; and the design of a model city. The
essence of the scheme is the acquisition of an advantageous location
for factories in the open country or on a village site, by a trust
formed to hold the title of the land until the town has been laid out
and factories started by the inducement of low rents. Later the title
* Shaw, Municipal Government in Great Britain, p. 3.
'■' London : Sonnenschein & Co., 1898. Later editions were entitled " Garden Cities of To-
Morrow."
[235]
42 The Annals of the American Academy
to the land is transferred to the community, the aim thus being to
preserve to the city as a whole the unearned increment due to the
mere growth of the city. Already has the Garden City Pioneer
Association been formed with a distinguished list of members and
with stock subscriptions aggregating $100,000. If the experiment
should succeed in abolishing ground-rents and appropriating to the
communal treasury the increase in land values, it would open un-
limited possibilities for the reconstruction of urban centres. Even
if that feature should not prove wholly successful, Mr. Howard's
plan of a model city (in circular instead of rectangular form, with
the public buildings in the centre and streets radiating to the cir-
cumference, where the factories are located) will have become famil-
iar and will provoke imitation on account of its success in combining
the advantages of the city and the country, so well described by
Emerson long ago :
" A man should live in or near a large town, because, let his
own genius be what it may, it will repel quite as much of agreeable
and valuable talent as it draws, and, in a city, the total attraction of
all the citizens is sure to conquer, first or last, every repulsion, and
drag the most improbable hermit within its walls some day in tlie
year. In town he can find the swimming-school, the gymnasium, the
dancing-master, the shooting-gallery, opera, theatre, and panorama;
the chemist's shop, the museum of natural history ; the gallery of
fine arts ; the national orators, in their turn ; foreign travellers, the
libraries, and his club. In the country he can find solitude and read-
ing, manly labor, cheap living, and his old shoes ; moors for game,
hills for geology, and groves for devotion."
Adna Ferrin Weber.
New York State Department of Labor, Albany, JV. Y.
236]
RECENT CHANGES IN THE GOVERNMENT OF LONDON
The system of municipal government of the greatest city in the
world is a mystery to most of its inhabitants. It is as complex as
the net-work of its streets, and, like them, it is largely the result of
the accidents of time and circumstance, perpetuated by the English-
man's instinctive regard for the survivals of antiquity. It is only
within the last fifty years — and, to a great extent, within the last
fifteen — that the legislature has taken the matter in hand and has
attempted to introduce into it anything like systematic uniformity.
The area of London is one hundred and twenty-one square miles.
Its limits are the same as those constituted by the Metropolis Man-
agement Act of 1859, with the addition of Penge, which was added
thereto only two years ago. Its ratable value, or the amount which
a rate of twenty pence in the pound would produce, is about forty
million pounds sterling. Its population reaches the prodigious figure
of some six and a half millions, or considerably more than that of
the whole of Scotland, Ireland, or Canada. Its municipal debt in
1 90 1 was over fifty- four millions of pounds, and is constantly in-
creasing.
By reason of its paramount importance, London has from the
earliest times been placed upon a different footing from the other
towns of the Kingdom. Their government is more or less uniform,
being regulated for the most part by the Municipal Corporations Acts
of 1835 and 1882. These Acts do not apply to the metropolis, which
has been left to the mercy of piecemeal legislation ;^ so that if at
the present day a code were to be produced of the existing law of
London government, it would be a patch-work of some hundreds of
public and private acts of Parliament and charters. It is not sur-
prising that this task has not been attempted. There are still at the
present day some three hundred public authorities in London, though
the London Government Act of 1899 alone abolished about two
hundred bodies with a membership of five thousand persons. Be-
tween these authorities the superintendence and administration of
municipal affairs is distributed. The division is not a logical or even
1 London has its special Act (known as Michael Angelo Taylor's Act) providing for llKhtinR
paving, and street improvements; it has its own Public Health Acts, its own Building Acts, and
its own assessment system.
[237]
44 The Annals of the American Academy
a convenient one; a certain amount of jealousy and friction, too,
exists between some of them. It is due, undoubtedly to the common
sense and moderation of the members and the London electorate
generally, that, in spite of this cumbrous machinery, London is gov-
erned in a manner which compares not unfavorably with other great
municipalities.
There are three organizations in London which stand out as
pre-eminently the most important and influential ; two of them are
of modern creation and are adaptations of older institutions. They
are the London County Council and the various Metropolitan Bor-
ough Councils. The third, on the other hand, is one of the most
ancient of all corporations, the city of London.
The London County Council is the successor of the Metropoli-
tan Board of Works. The latter was the outcome of the report
of a royal commission appointed in 1853. That body issued a recom-
mendation in favor of the formation of seven separate municipalities
in London under a central board of works. The second part of this
suggestion alone was carried out, and a bill was introduced in the
session of 1855 by Sir Benjamin Hall, which became law under the
title of the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855.
The Metropolitan Board of Works was the first authority which
in any way linked together the distinct components of the area of
London. It was accorded powers with reference to the control of
main-drainage, the carrying out of improvement works, the regu-
lation of streets and bridges, and the management of the fire brigade.
But its constitution was inherently vicious. Its forty-six members
Avere not directly elected, but were chosen by the voice of the ves-
tries and the district boards into which London was then divided.
It proved quite incompetent to carry out the important duties in-
trusted to it. It was discredited on all sides, and the revelation of
certain cases of corruption among its members brought matters to a
climax. A royal commission was appointed to inquire into the sub-
ject, and reported that the board was not worth reforming. Shortly
afterwards a bill was introduced into Parliament by the Right Honor-
able C. T. Ritchie, and was passed under the name of the Local Gov-
ernment Act, 1888. This enactment strengthened local government
over the rest of England by the establishment of the County Coun-
cils, the modern equivalent for the ancient " shire moots." The bill
also provided that the powers and authorities of the Metropolitan
[238I
Recent Changes in the Government of London 45
Board of Works should be handed over to a new body called the
London County Council, which was put on a footing analogous to
that of the other County Councils. The area of London was formed
into an administrative county, while the metropolis outside the city
and the city itself are each counties for non-administrative or ju-
dicial purposes, possessing their own Courts of Quarter Sessions and
their own justices.
The London County Council first met on March 21, 1889, under
the chairmanship of Lord Rosebery.- It consists of a chairman, a
vice-chairman, one hundred and eighteen councillors, and nineteen
aldermen. Two women were originally elected, but they were un-
seated upon a petition to the Queen's Bench Division. The coun-
cillors are chosen by direct election, four for the city of London
and two for each of the Parliamentary divisions of the rest of the
London area. They are elected for a term of three years and retire
together. The next election is in March of this year. The alder-
men are elected by the councillors, but not necessarily out of their
own body. They hold office for six years, and nine or ten retire
every three years. The chairman is elected by the rest of the Council
and serves for a year. The Council holds its meetings every Tues-
day.
Very important powers are possessed by this body. The Act
of 1888 intrusted to it not only the ordinary duties of a county
council, exercising the administrative powers till then performed by
the justices in Quarter Sessions, but those also which were formerly
exercised by the Metropolitan Board of Works, and also various
other duties of a special character. The Council has the power of
raising and lending money and of sanctioning loans required by the
metropolitan boroughs. The total advances which they have made
amount to nearly £35,000,000. They have to attend to the main
drainage of London and also to supervise the laying of local sewers.
The Metropolitan Fire Brigade is entirely under their control. The
police, however, are independent of them and are under the direct
government of the Home Office, except in the city, which possesses
its own police force. The Council had the power, which it has not
exercised, of taking over the control of the main roads in the county.
The only roads vested in or managed by it are the Thames Embank-
ment and certain other roads which have been the subject of special
- The first vice-chairman was Sir John Lubbock, now Lord Avebury.
[239]
46 The Annals of the American Academy
Improvement Acts. The public bridges over the Thames are vested
in and maintainable by it. It controls and supervises the making of
new streets and their naming and numbering. It is an authority
(and until the London Government Act, 1899, the only authority)
for enforcing the execution of the London Building Act, 1894, which
provided, among other matters, that no new buildings should be
erected of a greater height than the extent of the roadway inter-
vening between them and the opposite houses, and for the leaving
of sufficient space in the rear of new dwelling-houses. These duties
the Council carries out by its superintending architect and district
surveyors. It has powers of supervision also over the erection of
dangerous structures, over offensive businesses, and over the struc-
tural arrangements of theatres, music-halls, and artisans' dwellings ;
it is the licensing authority for all theatres and places for public
music and dancing not under the jurisdiction of the Lord Chamber-
lain ; it has powers of management over parks and open spaces ; it
is the authority for testing the supply of gas and water ; it authorizes
the laying of electric mains and cables, and maintains the necessary
testing-stations ; it provides asylums for pauper lunatics and reform-
atories and industrial schools ; it appoints and pays the different
coroners. There are a multitude of other duties as well which de-
volve upon it.
Most of the Council's work is done by its committees, of which
there are twenty-eight. Among them may be mentioned the Asylums
Committee, the Housing of the Working Classes Committee, the
Highways Committee, and the Bridges Committee. In 1893 a Works
Committee was started for the employment of direct labor. This is
not the place to discuss the merits or demerits of that system. Suffice
it to say that the tendency in the Council has been constantly to
increase its sphere and to do without the contractor whenever an
opportunity presents itself. In the year ending 31 March, 1903,
over £350,000 was spent by this committee. The Council is also
the tramway authority for London, and has been active in pur-
chasing the tramway systems in the metropolis. The fifty miles
of tramway line which it possesses in the north it has leased to
the North Metropolitan Tramways Company until 19 10. The
southern portion, to the extent of some forty miles, it works itself.
The latter is being changed to electric power, and the conduit or
underground system is being introduced thereon. Where the Council
[240]
Recent Changes in the Government of London 47
has taken over the management of tramways, the result has been
beneficial in several respects. The employees have received better
wages ; fares generally have been reduced. Workmen have been
carried at specially reduced rates, and an all-night service has been
inaugurated. An attempt was made by the Council to run a service
of omnibuses between their tramway termini, but the House of Lords
decided in 1902 that this business was illegal, for, being a statutory
corporation, the Council's powers were limited to those which Par-
liament had expressly bestowed upon it.
The most important committee of the Council is undoubtedly
the Finance Committee. No liability of over fifty pounds is allowed
to be incurred by the Council except after an estimate has been sub-
mitted by the Finance Committee and a resolution passed thereon.
All payments require an order of the Council signed by three mem-
bers of the Finance Committee and countersigned by the clerk. The
Council obtains every year, by its Annual Money Act, the power of
spending capital and of raising money through the creation of Con-
solidated Stock. The total debt of the Council is £57,500,000, but
deducting £24,000,000 due from the Borough Councils and other
authorities and £4,000,000 representing the value of property held,
the net debt is about £29,000,000. The rate collected in the county
outside the city was for the year 1903-04, i6%d. in the pound;
for the city it was i^^id. The Council was enabled in 1894 to
levy half-yearly an equalization rate of 3^/. in the pound for dis-
tribution among the parishes of London, according to their popu-
lation, the result being to benefit the poorer districts at the expense
of the richer. The estimated expenditure for the year 1903-04 was
£7,875,090, and the amount of the loans to be advanced to diflferent
authorities Avas £4,749,000, making a total of over twelve and a half
millions. The Council's accounts are audited by the Local Govern-
ment Board.
Several important works are in course of construction by the
Council, under powers obtained by special acts of Parliament. One
is the driving of a broad thoroughfare from the Strand to Holborn,
for which purpose a vast quantity of buildings are in the course of
demolition ; the cost will be about five million pounds. Under the
roadway a shallow electric tramway will be run to connect at Theo-
bald's Road with the Council's northern line of tramways. Another
improvement is the continuation of the Victoria Embankment from
[241]
48 The Annals of the American Academy
the Houses of Parliament to Millbank, and the clearing away of
an eyesore of wharves, slums, and ill-constructed alleys, which have
made that portion of the Thames such a contrast to the Seine at
Paris.
The present chairman of the London County Council is Lord
!Monkswell. At the election of Councillors in 1901, eighty-four Pro-
gressives were returned, thirty-one Conservatives, and three Inde-
pendents. The influence of the Progressives is to be traced in the
establishment of the Works Department and in the regard paid to
trades union conditions and hours of labor.
For some years after its creation the Council was the object of
a good deal of jealousy and some fear by the local authorities of
the metropolis, who were apprehensive that it would pursue an
aggressive policy against them. Moreover, a good deal of the odium
attaching to its predecessor clung to the new body. But in course
of time the Council has lived down these feelings, and it is generally
regarded as possessing in its members a very high command of
ability and energy, and as comparing in these respects by no means
unfavorably even with the House of Commons.
Such, then, is the central body of London government. The
early history of the metropolis, however, is that of the city corpo-
ration. The city has an area of just over a square mile. Its ratable
value is about five millions. Enormous as its day population is, its
sleeping population is insignificant, and consists almost entirely of
caretakers and charwomen. The government of the city is as com-
plicated as that of the rest of London. It possesses some one hundred
and twenty charters and fifty general acts of Parliament. It is gov-
erned by its Common Council, consisting of the Lord Mayor, twenty-
five aldermen, and two hundred and six commoners of the city of
London. The city, as has already been observed, has its own body
of police. For some purposes the County Council has no jurisdiction
within the city; for instance, with respect to the execution of the
London Building Act or the erection of sky-signs. On the other
hand, the city has certain powers over the whole of London, as, for
example, with regard to markets and the inspection of animals im-
ported from abroad.
Beyond the city, until 1855 the unit of government was the
parish. The parish was governed by a common-law vestry or gen-
eral meeting of the inhabitants, which controlled ecclesiastical as
[242]
Recent CJianges in the Government of London 49
well as civic affairs. The incumbent and church wardens were
ex-officio members, and the former presided. In addition, certain
bodies of commissioners were from time to time created over various
areas to deal with different needs as they arose. The Metropolis
Management Act, under which the Metropolitan Board of Works
was created, gave the parishes a more crystallized form. It set up
elective vestries everywhere in place of the common-law vestries.
In the larger parishes it intrusted these bodies with powers of mu-
nicipal government analogous to those possessed by the municipalities
of provincial towns. The government of the smaller and more thinly
populated parishes was grouped into districts administered by a
board of works appointed by the different elective vestries in the
areas composing them. Upon the new vestries and district boards
were conferred additional powers as to roads, drains, lighting,
cleansing, watering, and so forth, many of which had till then been
discharged by different bodies of committees, commissioners, and
trustees.
The vestries and district boards, however, although an improve-
ment on the pre-existing form of government, did not command
popularity or enthusiasm. A general tone of apathy pervaded them.
The key to it undoubtedly lay in their personnel. They offered no
attractions to ambition, and their membership conferred no social
status. As a result, they drifted for the most part into the hands
of small local tradesmen and of those who had some private axe
to grind.
A royal commission was appointed in 1893, over which Mr.
Leonard Courtney, M.P., presided, to inquire into the feasibility
of amalgamating the city with the rest of London. The committee
reported, among other things, that both the evidence before them
and a priori considerations from the historical development of Lon-
don led to the conclusion that the government of the metropolis
should be intrusted to a general body and to a number of local
authorities exercising certain other functions within the local areas
which collectively make up London, the central bodies and the local
bodies deriving their authority by direct election, and the functions
assigned to each being so determined as to secure complete inde-
pendence and responsibility for each member of the system. They
strongly recommended bringing London into line with the other
towns of the Kingdom by applying to it as far as possible the pro-
4 [243!
50 TJie Annals of the American Academy
visions of the Municipal Corporations Acts. London, however,
they admitted, was too large to be made into one town ; it was, in
fact, a collection of towns, and as such its local affairs needed to
be governed by dift'erent municipal authorities. They recommended
a certain adjustment of boundaries, and that the vestries should at
once be st3-led councils and be invested with the privilege of choosing
a mayor. Parliament took no action on the main recommendation,
which was the establishment of a local authority for the city, but
adopted that which concerned the rest of London. In 1899 the
government introduced a measure entitled the London Government
Bill. The Progressive party in London generally were opposed to
it, and Mr. Herbert Gladstone moved its rejection in the House of
Commons, but it was carried by a considerable majority in both
Houses, and came into operation on the 9th of November, 1900.
In obedience to the report of the Commission, the vestries and local
boards were done awa}^ with and were superseded by borough coun-
cils possessing the form and clothed with a good many of the powers
of a municipality. Sevent3'-eight elected vestries, consisting of more
than four thousand members, were abolished by the act, twelve dis-
trict boards of nearly six hundred members, one local board, and
one urban district council. The parish was allowed to remain as
a unit for rating purposes, and ecclesiastical matters were again
restored to the hands of the inhabitants from whom the Metropolis
Management Amendment Act, 1856, had transferred them to the
elective vestry. But the local unit for all important purposes be-
came the borough. The administrative county of London outside
the city was divided into twenty-eight boroughs, sixteen of which
were coterminous with single parishes. As a counterpoise, possibly,
to the prominence of the city, the area of Westminster was given
the title of the City of Westminster. The governing body in each
case was to be the Borough Council, consisting of a mayor, alder-
men, and councillors. The total number of councillors in each bor-
ough was not to exceed sixty, and the aldermen were to be one-sixth
of the number of councillors, making a possible maximum total of
seventy-one. This reduction of size was an undoubted improvement,
some of the vestries having had as many as one hundred and twenty
members. The determination of the boundaries of the boroughs and
the wards into which they were divided for the purposes of election,
the fixing of the precise numbers of the council, and other details
[244]
Recent Changes in the Government of London 51
were delegated to be worked out by orders in council and by
schemes and orders settled by the Local Government Board; but
it was directed that in fixing the membership of the different coun-
cils and their wards, regard should be had to ratable value as well
as to population. The franchise was declared to be the same as
that introduced by the Local Government Act, 1894. The qualifi-
cations for a vote thereunder arise from occupation, possessing
property in the district, being a lodger, or by service. Women are
entitled to the franchise, but married women cannot exercise it in
virtue of the same property as that under which their husbands
become entitled. Women, however, are not eligible to serve as
mayors, aldermen, or councillors, and in this respect the act was
retrogressive, for women could be, and were in fact, members of
the old vestries. It is a small concession that they may be co-opted
on the library committee of a borough.
The qualifications for a councillor are that he should be a
parochial elector for the borough or that he should have resided
therein during the whole of the twelve months preceding the elec-
tion. Councillors hold office for three years and are then capable
of re-election. The option which the act gave of holding triennial
instead of annual elections has been exercised, and there is conse-
quently a general retirement at the end of every three years. The
first election was held on the ist of November, 1900, when (the
election being largely influenced by feelings with regard to the
Transvaal war) a large conservative majority was returned. The
aldermen are elected by the councillors from themselves or from
persons qualified to be councillors. They are elected triennially on
the 9th of November for a term of six years, so that half of them
retire every three years. The mayor is elected by the Council on
the same da}^ for the term of one year from among the aldermen
and councillors or persons qualified to serve as such. He is ex
officio a justice of the peace for London, and may receive such re-
muneration as the council thinks desirable. The vicar and church-
wardens are no longer entitled to seats by virtue of their ofiice, the
act at length divorcing the long-standing union of ecclesiastical with
municipal administration. Yet it is remarkable that at the recent
elections two clergymen were chosen as mayors, — namely, in Maryle-
bone and in Woolwich, in the latter of which the mayor represents
the interests of the labor party.
[245]
52 TJie Annals of the American Academy
To the new borough councils were transferred the powers,
duties, properties, and liabiHties of the vestries and district boards.
They were also made the body for the carrying out of certain
adoptive acts which had been passed from time to time, relating
to public baths and wash-houses, libraries, burials, and other mat-
ters. They were empowered to make by-laws for the good rule of
tlie borough and the suppression of nuisances therein. A much-
needed right was given them in permitting them to promote bills
in Parliament and to pay the costs of doing so out of the rates.
The vestries had only the power of opposing bills, but not of pro-
moting them.
In addition, certain powers of no great importance were trans-
ferred to the borough councils which had previously been vested in
the London County Council, with reference to the licensing of
wooden structures, the removal of obstructions in the streets, and the
maintenance of main roads. The power and duty of repairing these
and the expense incident thereto were made to fall on the borough
councils without any liability on the County Council to contribute
to their maintenance. The exercise of some powers was given to
the borough concurrently with the County Council, as in the case
of the demolition of buildings erected in contravention of the Lon-
don Building Act and the execution of works under the Housing
of the Working Classes Act, 1890. An enactment of some impor-
tance is that contained in section 5, (3) and (4), under which the
Local Government Board are empowered, on the application of the
London County Council and of the majority of the borough coun-
cils, to make a provisional order for transferring to all the borough
councils any power exercised by the County Council, or vice versa.
A similar provision is included with regard to the Common Council
of the city of London. Considerable latitude is thus given for a
future redistribution of the powers of local government. A pro-
visional order, it may be explained, has, if it is passed, all the effect
of an act of Parliament without entailing the long process and
heavy expense incident to the obtaining of a special act. It is a
measure sanctioned by a government department and by it embodied,
often with other measures of a similar character, into an act, which
becomes law automatically after being laid before the notice of Par-
liament for a certain time ; while, if it is objected to by any member,
it is then treated as an ordinary opposed private bill, and goes before
[246]
Recent Changes in the Government of London 53
a select committee, which hears the parties and their counsel and
witnesses and conducts its proceedings after the manner of a judicial
tribunal.
A simplification of great service to the rate-payer is the pro-
vision in the act that all separate rates collected in any metropolitan
borough shall for the future be levied together on one demand note.
\Vhere the borough comprises more than one parish, its expenses
are to be divided between the parishes in proportion to their ratable
value. The separate office of overseers is abolished and the bor-
ough council is to discharge their functions, excepting only those
of registration and the preparation of jury lists, which matters are
cast upon the town clerk, presumably with a view to introducing
a direct personal responsibility for these duties.
Part of the system of checking financial expenditure which was
imposed upon the County Council has been applied to the metro-
politan boroughs. The accounts of the borough council and the
borough treasurer have to be made up to the 31st of March in each
year and are audited by the district auditors of the Local Govern-
ment Board. This salutary check presents a favorable contrast with
the system in force in the provincial boroughs, where the auditor is
elected by the council itself and where the municipality is tlierefore
under no immediate criticism of its finance. The necessity for such
control is particularly necessary when the governing body of the
town embarks upon enterprises of a commercial and perhaps of a
speculative nature, for it is easy to mislead the rate-payers as to the
real prosperity of such an undertaking by making an insufficient
allowance, or no allowance at all, for depreciation, or by setting off
the loss on one enterprise against the profit made on an entirely
•different one. And the country generally has of late loudly voiced
its demand that an independent control of the kind introduced into
London should be extended to the rest of the Kingdom. Every
metropolitan borough is, moreover, compelled to issue an annual
report in the June of each year and to send it to the London County
Council. As in the case of the latter body, a finance committee has
to be appointed and no expenditure of more than fifty pounds can
be incurred, save upon a resolution of the Council based upon an
estimate of that committee; all payments require an order of the
Council and the signature of three members of the committee as
well as that of the town clerk.
[247]
54 ?/''-' --iiiiials of the American Academy
With regard to the borrowing of capital, the same powers as
were possessed by the vestries and district boards are given to the
borough councils, but with this modification, that where the con-
sent of the London County Council is required to the raising of a
loan, and tliat body refuses to give it, the borough may appeal to
a body less likely to be influenced by narrow views or local preju-
dice, — namely, the Local Government Board. The same body is
allowed to confer the overriding power of compulsory purchase
under the Lands Clauses Acts to a borough council which requires
land for some legitimate purpose and cannot obtain it by agreement
with the owner. On the other hand, the Local Government Board
is given the right of preventing a council from parting with any
of the land it already possesses.
Such being in outline the reforms introduced by the London
Government Act, the question naturally arises : How far have they
been successful? The time that has elapsed since the act has come
into operation is not great, but the results that have shown them-
selves in that time are certainly disappointing. The same work
is, in fact, being done in the same way by the same men under a
different name. The attempt of the government to put new life
into the vestries by calling them borough councils unconsciously
suggests the superstition prevalent among some tribes of changing
a child's name when it is dangerously ill, so that the spirit of Death
may be misled as to its identity. For if it w^as hoped that the dig-
nity attaching to the titles of mayor, alderman, and councillor would
attract men of higher ability to devote themselves to municipal work,
the expectation has not been fulfilled. With the exception perhaps
of Westminster and Kensington (in the former of which the Duke
of Norfolk was the first mayor and the Marquis of Salisbury is
the present holder of that office), practically the same men form the
council as made up the vestry. The act appears, indeed, to have
made greater changes of theory than of practice. The simplification
of rate-collecting, the system of audit, and the co-ordination of
the powers of the borough wath those of the County Council are
no doubt salutary innovations, but the fact remains that the chief
result which the average Londoner sees of the new act is the framed
name-plates at each street-corner with tlie name of the borough
almost as conspicuous as that of the street. What appeals to him
most is the reduction of his rates, and since the act these have gone
[248]
Rccoit CJianges in the Government of London 55
up by leaps and bounds, with a corresponding increase in the amount
of local indebtedness.
In the borough of Marylebone matters have almost reached a
crisis, owing to the rashness of the council in embarking upon a
large scheme of electric lighting without properly examining into
the cost which it would entail upon them. They gave notice to the
Metropolitan Electric Supply Company, who distribute electric light
and power over a considerable area of London, of their intention
to buy out their undertaking within the borough under the Electric
Lighting Acts. An arbitration was accordingly held, and the arbi-
trator awarded the sum of £1,212,000 in February of last year.
This, however, does not represent the whole of the amount which
the council will be called upon to expend ; for with the costs of the
arbitration, an allowance for capital expended by the company since
1 90 1, interest on the purchase money until payment, and the exten-
sion of generating stations which is essential, the total cost cannot
well fall short of £2,000,000. The purchase price was due on the
last day of the old year, and the company has obtained an order to
enforce the award. The council, being without funds to meet it,
applied to the High Court for an extension of time until June 30,
1904. Mr. Justice Buckley, however, would only consent to extend
it till the end of February. The London County Council have
refused to make an advance, and the Government Departments will
not come to the aid of the borough. The council, under pressure
from the rate-payers, have attempted to get the company to agree
to a modification of the award, but the only terms which the latter
have consented to take are virtually prohibitive. The proposal is
that the company shall accept a charge upon the rates and revenues
for the borough and interest at an agreed rate upon the sum awarded
by the arbitrator, and that the council shall redeem the whole amount
at par in forty-two years. Meanwhile, the council is to lease the
undertaking to the company from 1905 till 193 1 at a rental equal
to the interest on the stock. No competition is to be allowed in that
time on the part of any other company; and, in addition, at the
termination of the lease, the council is to purchase part of the gener-
ating station at Willesden. It is not surprising to learn that the
reading out of these suggested terms by the mayor was greeted in
the council with laughter. But that body is left with no alternative
save to proceed with the bill which it has introduced into Parlia-
ment allowing it to raise the sum of i 1,800,000, and which can alone
[249]
56 The Annals of the American Academy
extricate it from this impasse. Yet it must be remembered that
a meeting of the rate-payers will first have to be held, for, under
tlie standing orders of both Houses, their consent is a condition
precedent to the passing of the bill, and the rate-payers' committee
is at the present moment issuing a circular recommending the rate-
payers to refuse it. Moreover, it is always possible that Parliament
may decline to interfere to save the borough from the consequences
of its ill-advised experiment. To raise the amount by a rate would,
it is estimated, require a rate of i^d. in the pound, in addition to
the existing rates, the very possibility of which has filled the house-
holders of ]\Iarylebone with horror and dismay.
There are two measures recently passed which are of consider-
able importance to the inhabitants of the Metropolis and which may
be briefly referred to. These are the London' Water Act, 1902, and
the Education Act of last year. The problem of the water-supply
for the area of London — or " Water-London," as this district is
commonly called — is an old one, and has been under constant dis-
cussion for the last fifty years. Water has now for many years
been supplied to the town by eight companies created under various
acts of Parliament. To some extent their areas of supply overlap,
and competition thus existed at one time between them ; but to
save one another's pockets the companies came to mutual under-
standing by which they made a voluntary delimitation of their areas
where these conflicted. To protect the consumer, therefore, Par-
liament, by the Water-Works Clauses Act of 1847, limited their
profits to a cumulative dividend of 10 per cent., and after providing
for a reserve fund, the balance is made to go in reduction of the
water-rate. The bulk of London's water comes from the Thames
and the reservoirs constructed along it; a smaller quantity is ob-
tained from the river Lee and from wells sunk in the chalk. Two
questions have accordingly arisen : first, whether the water com-
panies could be safely and conveniently left with the monopoly of
the most essential of all commodities; and, if not, to whom the
management should be given; and, secondly, whether the existing
sources of supply were likely to be sufficient for the near future.
As regards the second of these questions, a royal commission ap-
pointed in 1893 and presided over by Lord Balfour, of Burleigh,
and Lord Llandaff's Commission, which sat from 1897 to 1899,
both reported that the present sources were sufficient for at least
another fifty years. Nothing accordingly came of the London
[250]
Recent Changes in the Governmeiit of London 57
County Council's scheme to obtain water from Wales by construct-
ing a long line of aqueducts thence to London. Lord Llandaff's
commission was also intrusted with an inquiry as to the desirability
of the purchase and management of the water concerns by a public
body. The commission, after sitting for two years and hearing an
immense quantity of advice offered by the different parties interested,
issued their report in a volume of considerable size. They advised
that the undertaking of the companies should be acquired, but that
the body to take them over should not be the London County Coun-
cil, but a water board consisting of not more than thirty members
chosen for their business capacity and, if possible, for their knowl-
edge of matters connected with water-supply, ten being appointed
by the London County Council and nearly all the others by the
other county councils within whose districts water-London lies.
The vestries were not to be represented. In 1900, however, when
the government introduced their bill, the London Government Act
was already law, and they resolved, in the face and in spite of this
report, to give a preponderating influence to the borough councils
at the expense of the London County Council. The joint select
committee of both Houses before wdiom the bill was referred was
presided over by Lord Balfour, of Burleigh, and decided against
the inclusion of separate representatives from the boroughs. The
government, however, brought pressure to bear upon it by threaten-
ing in that case to withdraw the bill altogether. As a result, a board
was constituted consisting of a chairman, vice-chairman, and sixty-
six members, of which the London County Council are to choose
fourteen, and the borough councils one each, with the exception of
the city of London and the city of Westminster, which are to choose
two apiece. Representatives were also allotted to the other county
councils, the Thames and Lee Conservancies, and other authorities.
This miniature parliament is to come into being on June 24, 1904,
and is to hold office for three years at a time. It is to take over and
administer the undertakings of the companies within the London
area. The determination of the purchase price was left to a
specially constituted court of arbitration consisting of three well-
known gentlemen, Sir Edward Fry (formerly Lord Justice Fry),
Sir Hugh Owen, late permanent secretary of the Local Government
Board, and Sir John Wolfe Barry, one of the foremost of modern
engineers. Questions of law arising in the course of the arbitration
are to go direct to the Court of Appeal, and thence (bv leave) to the
[251]
58 The Annals of the American Academy
House of Lords. No allowance was to be made for compulsory sale
or for the enhancement or depreciation of market-values, owing to
the passing or the anticipation of the passing of the act. The sum
to be paid may (if so agreed) be discharged by the issue of
water-stock. The size of the undertakings thus to be acquired may
be gauged by the claim of one company alone (the New River Com-
pany), which demanded £15,000,000; this sum, however, will in all
probability be considerably abated, owing to the decision of the
arbitrators that the 10 per cent, limit on dividend applies to this
company in common with the others, a matter which till now a con-
geries of acts of Parliament has involved in the greatest doubt. The
East London Water Company claimed £6,500,000, and was awarded
either £3,900,000 or £4,300,000, according to the view which the
court should take of another legal question involved with regard
to a sinking fund, known as the Chamberlain's Fund. Two other
companies, the Grand Junction Water Company and the West Mid-
dlesex Water Company, have been awarded sums of approximately
£3,500,000 each. The responsibility of the control of this large con-
cern will be in proportion to its size, for the welfare of London must
be largely dependent upon its obtaining a sufficient supply of whole-
some water at a reasonable price. It is to be hoped that the general
apprehension may not be realized, that the new authority may have
its efficiency and energy impeded by its somewhat cumbersome size.
The Education Act of 1903 is the complement of the measure
of the preceding year, and extends with some modifications to Lon-
don the system then introduced into the rest of the Kingdom. The
principle of both acts is the taking over by the local authority of the
primary schools both the voluntary, or " non-provided schools," and
the board schools, or " provided schools." The former are schools
in which the religious teaching of some particular denomination
is taught (whether it be that of the Church of England or that of
Roman Catholics, Non-Conformists, or Jews), and which are sup-
ported by an association of that denomination and receive aid out
of government grants. They are opposed to the board schools, or
" provided schools," in which, under a section of the Elementary
Education Act of 1870, known as the Cowper-Temple clause, no
denominational religious teaching is given, and which are supported
entirely out of the rates. The cost of the up-keep of the voluntary
schools which are taken over under the act is now also to fall mainly
on the rates, the general expense of teaching and maintenance being
[252]
Recent CJiaiiges in the Government of Lojidon 59
borne by the local authority, whilst the denominational body pay for
structural repairs, or what in a repairing lease is generally included
under '' landlord's repairs." The " provided" schools will continue
to be kept up by the rates, but the school board will be abolished
and will be succeeded by the local authority. The reason for treat-
ing London separately was the difficulty and importance of deter-
mining what the local authority should be. The prominence of the
educational question in London may be realized from the fact that
the expiring London School Board has five hundred and fifty thou-
sand scholars to look after and nearly fourteen thousand teachers
to educate them, while there are no less than five hundred and sixteen
voluntary schools with nearly one hundred and eighty thousand
scholars. As at first drawn, the bill of 1903 divided the control
between the borough councils and the London County Council, but
the strong opposition with which this proposal was received induced
the government to constitute the London County Council the author-
ity, at the same time allowing the borough councils a voice in the
arrangement of " provided" schools. As the local education author-
ity, the London County Council will have some general control over
both " provided" and voluntary schools, and will have to raise the
necessary rates. It will have to act, however, in all except financial
matters through an education committee. This body is to consist of
members of the Council, in addition to whom the act allows of the
co-operation of persons possessing experience in education and
acquainted with the various kinds of schools ; and women, or at
least one woman, will have to be on each committee. In the case
of the first committee chosen, regard is to be had to the inclusion
of members of the outgoing school board. It is important that the
Progressive party, who command a majority in the Council, should
already have avowed, through their leader, Mr. T. IMcKinnon Wood,
their intention of refraining from co-option and, so far as the act
does not force them to do otherwise, of including nobody except
their own members on the Education Committee. It is to be hoped,
however, that this attempt to override the spirit of the act will be
defeated by the Board of Education, which is intrusted with the
duty of sanctioning the final constitution of the Educational Com-
mittee. As Mr. Wood himself says, the main object should be to
obtain a body which shall administer the act, free from sectarian
bias and partiality, in the public interest and in the interests of edu-
cation and the children.
[253]
6o The Annals of the American Academy
The detailed administration of the school will devolve upon a
body of managers. In the case of " provided" schools, they will be
chosen as to two-thirds by the borough council and as to one-third
by the London County Council. In the case of voluntary schools^
two-thirds will be foundation managers representing the denomina-
tional body to which the school belongs and one-third will be ap-
pointed by the London County Council. Women are to be included
as managers in the proportion of not less than a third. The act
is to come into force on the ist of May, 1904, or at a date within
twelve months thereof, to be fixed by the Board of Education. Like
the act of 1902, the measure is unpopular with a considerable class,
who see in it the endowment of Church of England schools out of
the rates, and regard it as a symptom of ecclesiastical tyranny ; they
have threatened to adopt with regard to it the policy of passive
resistance to the payment of the education rate, which has been the
manifestation of this displeasure over the rest of England. Yet
the body of thinking Londoners do not, on the whole, appear to
regard the principles of the act with disfavor. The control of a
central body is calculated to create greater educational uniformity
and efficiency throughout the London schools. The cost of denomi-
national teaching in any particular school will fall on the denomi-
nation which supports it, while (as is only just) the cost of secular
education will fall upon the rate-payers. They will have to pay more
in the form of rates, but it will be taxation with representation.
In these pages I have attempted to give a bare outline of the
recent changes in the municipal government of our greatest city.
The intricacy and difficulty with which I premised that the subject
was enveloped have, I fear, been made only too manifest. Never-
theless, this much, I think, will be clear: .that Parliament has
awakened to the need that exists for improvement and simplification,
and that it has done not a little in this direction. And if all its
measures have not been as successful as might have been wished,
this result is due less, perhaps, to the measures themselves than to-
the men who have been chosen to execute them; for in this con-
nection, too, the old maxim holds good, that it is the men who make
the city.
Herbert M. Adler,
Barrister-at-Law.
Cambridge, Englaxtd,
[254]
THE MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS OF AUSTRALIA
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CONDITIONS IN NEW SOUTH WALES
The beginning- of Municipal Government in Australia dates
back to July, 1842, when an act was passed in New South Wales to
declare the town of Sydney (the capital) to be a city and to in-
corporate the inhabitants thereof.
Under this act, which was the foundation for much of the sub-
sequent legislation, the city of Sydney was divided into six wards,
and the council consisted of four councillors elected by the citizens,
and six aldermen elected by the councillors, the whole council elect-
ing a mayor from among themselves. The only persons entitled to
vote for the election of councillors were males of the full age of
twenty-one years (other than aliens), who had occupied any house,
warehouse, counting-house, or shop within the city at the annual
value of £25, clear of all charges thereupon, during the whole of one
year preceding such election, provided that no person could vote
who had failed to pay his rates. The act also prescribed the mode of
voting by requiring that every citizen entitled to vote should deliver
to the presiding officer a voting paper containing the names of the
persons for whom he voted, such voting-paper being previously
signed by the voter, who was also required to fill in his address.
Every citizen elected to the office of councillor, alderman, auditor, or
assessor, and every councillor elected to the office of mayor, was re-
quired to accept the office or pay a fine to the city fund. Persons
convicted of bribery in connection with the municipal elections were
liable to penalty as well as permanent disqualification. The usual
provisions were made for the retirement of a certain number of the
council each year, and also for the vacation of office in event of
bankruptcy or absence without leave. The council had the entire
control of the appointment and remuneration of all the officers, in-
cluding the town clerk and the treasurer, and also had the power to
grant a salary to the mayor " in lieu of all fees, perquisites, and
•other emoluments." The power of the mayor was exceedingly
limited, and he was, in fact, merely the chairman of the council.
Under this act the council was authorized to levy a city rate not
exceeding one shilling in the pound per annum on the full, fair, and
[255]
62 The Annals of the Ainericaii Academy
average annual value clear of all outgoings, of practically every
building within the limits of the city, and also a " lighting rate" not
exceeding four pence in the pound computed in like manner. It was
also empowered to raise a " police rate," not exceeding six pence
in the pound on the annual value of ratable property, for the purpose
of remimerating a number of special constables who were to be sworn
in every year, because the ordinary police force of the city (which
was under the control of the government) was insufficient to main-
tain the peace. In addition, it was given power to regulate the
markets and the market wharf, to control the roads within the city,
to construct common sewers, drains, and watercourses, public wells
and pumps, as it thought necessary; and was also charged with the
responsibility for the good rule and government of the cit}^ and for
the prevention and suppression of all nuisances, sanitary or other-
wise.
For the purpose of carrying out the work devolving upon them,
the council was authorized to borrow on the credit of the corporation,
by mortgage or otherwise, any sum of money not exceeding the aver-
age amount of the revenue of the corporation (exclusive of the
police rate) during a period of five years. It was provided, how-
ever, that the total debt of the council at any time should not ex-
ceed five average years' revenue, exclusive of the police rate and any
grant received from government.
A few days after this act of 1842 came into force, the govern-
ment passed the Appropriation Act, whereby they were empowered
to pay to the city fund each year a sum equal to the amount paid by
the citizens under the council's assessment, but not exceeding £5,000
in any one year.
I have just touched upon the main provisions of this important
act, but probably enough has been said to show that even in those
early days of municipal government the councillors were intrusted
with wide powers and important duties, which, if zealously and in-
telligently carried out, could not fail to be of the greatest public
value. It is not to be wondered at that experience revealed some
defects in the first act, and that consequently in October, 1850, Parlia-
ment passed a new act for the regulation of the corporation of the
city of Sydney. In considering this latter act it will be necessary
to look only at the points of difference between it and the earlier
measure.
[256]
The Municipal Institutions of Australia 63
It is interesting to note that while the quahfication of the voters
remained practically the same, greater care was taken to insure, by
means of revision courts, that every qualified voter should be en-
rolled, and that names improperly on the roll should, be expunged.
More stringent qualifications were required for the office of coun-
cillor or alderman, to which office no citizen became eligible until he
was possessed of real or personal estate, or both, to the amount of
ii,ooo, either in his own right or in that of his wife, or unless he
was rated on the annual value of not less than £100. Persons
elected to these offices were not entitled to hold any office or place of
profit under the council, either directly or indirectly.
One important reform effected by this act was the election of
mayor, councillors, and aldermen by the citizens, the method of
voting being by means of a ballot paper signed the voter. Plural
voting was not permitted, as a citizen assessed in respect to property
situated in several wards was entitled to vote in only one of them
as he might select.
The act also defined bribery or corruption in connection with
municipal elections ; that is to say :
" The giving of money or any other article whatsoever, cockades in-
cluded, to any elector with a view to influence his vote, or the holding out
to him any promise or expectation of profit, advancement, or enrichment in
any shape to influence his vote, or making use of any threat to any voter, or
otherwise intimidating him in any manner with a view to influence his vote,
treating of any voter, or supplying him with any drink, lodging, or horse or
carriage hire, or conveyance by steam or otherwise whilst at such election
or whilst engaging in coming to or going from such election, the payment to
any elector of any sum of money for acting or joining in any procession dur-
ing such election or before or after the same, keeping open or allowing to
be kept open any public house, booth, or tent, or place of entertainment,
whether liquor or refreshment of any kind be distributed at such place of
entertainment or not, giving of any dinner, supper, breakfast, or other enter-
tainment in any place whatsoever by a candidate to any number of persons
with a view to influencing their votes."
An ofifence against this section was punishable by a fine of £200
for each ofifence, besides disfranchisement for seven years. Prin-
cipals were bound by the acts of their authorized agents, and persons
other than authorized agents found guilty of so oflfending were
liable to be convicted of misdemeanor and punished with fine or im-
prisonment. Moreover, any voter who received any reward or loan,
[257]
64 TJie Annals of the American Academy
or any consideration whatever for refraining to vote was liable to a
penalty of £^0 for each offence, and to be forever disfranchised.
The powers of the council in respect to sanitation were con-
siderably widened, but the general powers which the original act
conferred upon it for the making of by-laws and regulations were
limited in so far as such by-laws were to be subject to the approval
of the Governor-in-Council. No additional restriction was placed
upon the borrowing powers of the council, but the excellent provision
was enacted that in order to discharge all loans the council should
establish a sinking fund to be invested in government securities.
Unfortunately the municipal control of the city fell into the
wrong hands, and so much public dissatisfaction was created that
three years later, — viz., in October, 1853, — the Parliament of New
South Wales passed the Sydney Corporation Abolition Act, and
put the whole municipal control of the city under three salaried com-
missioners, who held ofifice from the beginning of 1854 to the end
of 1857. In March of this latter year the municipal council of Syd-
ney was re-established with powers practically the same as it had
under the previous acts.
Several important developments are revealed in the act of 1857,
among them being the constitution of the council by aldermen only,
instead of councillors and aldermen as formerly. The aldermen were
elected by the rate-payers, and from among themselves elected the
mayor. One rather startling innovation was contained in this act
in a brief clause as follows :
" The mayor, aldermen, and auditors shall be entitled to receive for their
services out of the city funds such salaries and allowances as the council
shall from time to time determine."
The auditors had, of course, always been salaried officials, and
it had been customary to grant an honorarium to the mayor, but it
is somewhat novel to find the aldermen entitled to pay themselves any
salaries they thought fit! Owing doubtless to the increase in the
population of the city, the subject of public health had become on6
of great importance, and the city council was charged with the duty
of appointing a qualified medical practitioner as a health officer with
power to investigate the origin of diseases and to attend to such
matters as the ventilation of buildings, and indeed anything which
affected the health of the citizens.
[258]
The Aluiiicipal Institutions of Australia 65
Up to October, 1858, the acts relating to municipal government
were only those in connection with the city of Sydney to which I
have already referred, although in 1843 several of the country dis-
tricts were incorporated under letters patent into district councils.
The act of 1858 was, therefore, the first piece of legislation of any
importance dealing with general municipal government.
Under this act the Governor-in-Council was empowered to de-
clare a municipality formed on the petition of not fewer than fifty
householders, unless a counter-petition signed by a greater number
were received. At the first election all persons having a freehold,
leasehold, or household qualification were deemed electors, and at
subsequent elections all such persons who were also rate-payers were
qualified to vote. If the population of a municipality did not exceed
1,000, six aldermen were to be elected, but if the population were
greater, the number of aldermen was increased to nine. Among the
powers and duties committed to the suburban and country munici-
palities was the right to erect toll-gates and charge tolls on any road,
market, bridge, ferry, wharf, or jetty. They were authorized also to
impose a general rate not exceeding one shilling in the pound on the
average annual rental value of buildings, and also to levy special
rates for water supply, sewerage, and lighting. With the sanction of
the Governor-in-Council any municipality could borrow an amount
not exceeding the estimated revenue for three years. The govern-
ment undertook to endow each municipality during the first five years
with a sum equal to the amount of the rates actually raised in the
year; during the next five years with a sum equal to one-half of
the amount so raised, and in each of the next five years one-fourth of
the amount raised, after which the endowment should cease.
The next step in the work of municipal legislation in New South
Wales was an act passed in July, 1879, consolidating and amending
the laws relating to the corporation of the city of Sydney. This act
with the amendments of it was consolidated in August, 1902, and
remains in force to-day. I need, therefore, refer only to this latter
act by way of illustrating the conditions under which the municipal
government of the second largest city in the British Empire (esti-
mated by the annual value of its ratable property) is carried on.
There are several directions in which important amendments on
preceding acts are embodied in this latest measure. First, as to the
qualifications of citizens, it is provided that any natural-born or
5 [259]
66 The Annals of the American Academy
naturalized British subject, male or female— ^for the first time women
are given a vote — possessed of a freehold interest in property as-
sessed at a yearly value of £5 or upward, or of a leasehold interest
of a yearly value of £25 or upward, is entitled to vote in every
ward in which he or she is so qualified. Any British subject who has
been continuously during the preceding six months in joint or sev-
eral occupation of any house, warehouse, counting-house, shop, or
other building including any room or part of a house separately occu-
pied in the ward, of a yearly value of iio or upward, or who, as a
lodger, has continuously during the previous six months occupied,
jointly or severally, any lodgings in a ward of a clear yearly value
of iio or upward, is entitled to one vote only. This qualification
confers on practically every adult citizen in Sydney who has resided
in any one ward for six months prior to an election the right to vote
in that ward.
Another, and perhaps the most important, reform effected by
this act is in the method of voting, which is by means of a secret
ballot. This is so important that I make no apology for quoting
from the section of the act as follows :
" Such citizen shall take such ballot papers into an inner compartment,
and there without delay cancel them by striking through the name of every
candidate except such as he intends to vote for, and shall then fold up each
ballot paper so as to conceal the names and immediately put it into the
ballot box, and thereupon he shall at once quit such booth or room and shall
not re-enter the same during the election.
" No two voters shall be in the same inner compartment at the same time."
The ballot paper is not signed, nor is there anything upon it to
indicate the identity of the voter. Ample provision is made for the
accommodation of blind or illiterate citizens, and safeguards are
provided against impersonation. The greatest possible care is ex-
ercised in the supervision and examination of the ballot boxes so as
to prevent any ballot papers being taken therefrom or inserted
therein, and the examination of the ballot papers is made by the re-
turning officer in the presence of scrutineers, and the result of the
ballot is thereupon declared by the mayor.
The money which any candidate for election as alderman is en-
titled to disburse in electioneering expenses is limited to the sum of
£50, and the details of such expenditure, verified by statutory decla-
ration, are to be furnished to the town clerk within seven days after
[260]
The Municipal Institutions of Australia 67
the holding of an election. If any candidate should spend more than
the sum of £50, he is liable to a penalty of £20 and his election is de-
clared void. As in the earlier acts so in the present act, every per-
son holding any place of profit under the Crown or the council, is
disqualified from being elected to the office of alderman, and in like
manner every person who within three years has compounded with
his creditors, and every uncertificated bankrupt or insolvent, is also
disqualified. With these exceptions any male person on the roll for
any ward of the city shall be qualified to be elected as alderman.
The whole of the aldermen are required to retire simultaneously
every two years.
The sections of the act which relate to bribery, treating, intimi-
dation, etc., in connection with the municipal elections are the same,
mutatis imitandis, as relate to parliamentary elections, and provide
that every person guilty of bribery (the definition of bribery is
minutely set forth in seven sub-sections) shall be liable to a fine of
£100 or to six months' imprisonment or to both, and shall be in-
capable of voting at such election ; and every candidate for election
who shall be guilty of " treating" (the definition of which offence is
clearly described) shall be liable to the penalty just mentioned. The
ofifence of intimidation is defined as a misdemeanor punishable in a
similar way. Moreover, the act expressly provides that :
"No act, suit, or other proceeding whatsoever shall be brought or main-
tained whereby to charge a person upon any contract or agreement for the
loan of money or the doing of any work or service or the supply of any goods
for or towards or concerning or in carrying on or in prosecuting any election
of a member under this Act,"
and further that :
" Any person who makes or is concerned in any wager, bet or other risk
of any nature whatsoever upon the result of any election shall for every
such offence be liable to a penalty not being less than £5 nor exceeding £50,
and every such wager, bet, or other risk shall be and is hereby declared an
illegal act."
As in former years the officers of the council are entirely under
the control of the council, who fix their remuneration and terms of
service. The mayor has the power to suspend any officer or servant
of the council, provided that he report the suspension at the next
meeting of the council, who shall thereupon confirm such suspen-
[261]
68 The Annals of the American Academy
sion or otherwise deal with the matter. The provision in the earher
act which enabled the aldermen to remunerate themselves out of the
funds of the council is entirely done away with, and in lieu thereof
provision is made that a mayoral allowance may be granted by the
council each year. In the city of Sydney this is usually fixed at
£i,ooo per annum, in Melbourne at £1,500 per annum, and at smaller
sums in the other capital cities in Australia. This allowance is spent
in civic hospitality, and is usually insufficient to cover the expenses
which the office entails upon its holder.
The act of which I have just been speaking refers only to the
city of S}-dne3', as the present law under which the suburban and
country municipalities operate dates back to the Municipalities Act
of 1867, which with the amendments thereon was consolidated thirty
years afterwards. In almost all the other states of the Common-
wealth of Australia there are more or less comprehensive systems
of local government in force, but, unfortunately, in the parent state
of New South Wales the efforts hitlierto made to introduce a local
government bill have been frustrated, so that the government remains
the one great centre from which every portion of the state seeks to
obtain all the financial assistance it requires. Every road, every
bridge, and, in fact, every local work of a public character in the
country is constructed and maintained at government cost. The ex-
isting system cannot be defended on any grounds ethical or political,
and its continuance has tended in no small degree to the degradation
of politics.
It may be worth while to enumerate briefly the constitution and
powers of these suburban and country municipalities. The number
of aldermen in each municipality varies from six to twelve accord-
ing to the population, who are presided over by a mayor elected
from among themselves each year. Every rate-payer of the full age
of twenty-one years is entitled to vote, and accumulative votes are
permitted according to the assessed value of the property occupied,
leased, or owned by the rate-payer. Voting is by secret ballot as in
the case of city elections, and generally speaking the same cere-
monies are observed and the same safeguards exercised as in the
case of city elections.
Besides the power to fix rates, these municipalities may borrow
up to five times their estimated annual revenue, exclusive of govern-
ment endowments, for the purpose of building town halls or council
[262]
The Miuiicipal Institutions of Australia 69
chambers, or for carrying out any other work within the powers
of the municipahty. These loans are usuaUy secured by mortgage
or debentures, or both, and with very few exceptions are regarded
as safe and remunerative investments. A number of the municipah-
ties have erected gas-works and water-works, some of them having
constructed municipal baths, and it is lawful for them to erect
wharves, jetties, or piers where necessary or convenient.
Every council has power within its municipality to abate and
remove all nuisances therein, to order and compel the extirpation
of noxious weeds, and to establish tolls on roads, bridges, wharves,
etc. As a matter of fact, however, there are no tolls on any roads
or bridges, and no rates are levied beyond the general rate and the
lighting, water, and sewerage rates.
The entire police force of the state is presided over by the in-
spector-general of police, and is under the control of the govern-
ment, so that neither the mayor nor council of any municipality can
exercise any authority over them whatever.
The municipalities in Australia take no part in the educative
work carried on by means of art galleries, public libraries, and the
like, the most important of which are maintained and controlled by
the government or by local schools of art. Neither do they conduct
charitable organizations, most of the asylums for the blind, deaf
and dumb, indigent, and insane being carried on by the government.
Numerous organizations for the relief of the poor exist throughout
the country, but these are maintained either by charitable, religious,
or non-sectarian bodies, and not by the municipalities.
There are many suburban and country districts in New South
Wales which are not incorporated into municipalities, but whose
interests are looked after by voluntary committees called progress
associations, and in one suburb, at least, the residents have cheer-
fully taxed themselves in order that the progress association might
carry out certain local works that were desired.
In the city of Sydney the municipal council has recently entered
upon an extensive and costly scheme of electric lighting under the
powers conferred upon it by an act of Parliament passed in 1896.
An admirable site has been selected for the power station, of suffi-
cient area to accommodate machinery and plant equipment develop-
ing approximately 30,000 horse-power. Electricity will be gen-
erated at 5,200 volts on the three-phase alternating system, with a
[263]
/O The Annals of the American Academy
periodicity of fifty cycles. The object of the council is to supply
electricity to the citizens of Sydney as economically as possible.
Unlike most of the other capital cities, the streets of Sydney are
under a divided control, for although nominally under the direction
of the municipal council, certain other bodies have independent
powers in connection with them. For example, the railway com-
missioners carry on their electric tramway system (or street rail-
v^^ays) without deference to the municipal council, and maintain at
their own cost about one-third of each road-way along which the
lines are laid. The metropolitan board of water supply and sewer-
age (which is practically a governmental department, notwithstand-
ing that the city and suburban municipalities have their elected repre-
sentatives on the board), and the Australian Gaslight Company and
the Sydney Hydraulic Power Company (which are private corpo-
rations), each possesses certain powers in the way of opening up the
foot-paths and streets for the purpose of carrying on their respective
works, which have been granted to them by act of Parliament and
outside of the authority of the municipal council. The vehicular
traffic of the city is controlled by the police, who, as previously men-
tioned, are under the direction of the government through the in-
spector-general.
All the telegraph lines and stations and the telephone systems
in Australia are state-owned, and on the establishment of Federa-
tion, in 1 90 1, they were handed over to the control of the Federal
government, which, like the state authorities before them, can erect
telegraph poles, construct telephone tunnels, and carry out any other
necessary work in connection witli the department without sanction
from the municipal authorities.
Besides these independent bodies there is the board of health,
whose powers are exercised by each council within its municipality,
and which include the control of noxious trades and cattle slaugh-
tering, and the supervision of dairies. The fire brigades board con-
trols the fire brigades within the metropolitan and suburban area.
One member of this board is elected by the municipal council of Syd-
ney, and one by the suburban municipalities within whose boundaries
the board operates. The annual outlay for the fire brigades board's
maintenance is contributed in three equal shares by the fire in-
surance companies, the municipal councils of Sydney and suburbs,
and the government, respectively.
[264]
The Municipal Institutions of Australia yi
In the other capital cities of AustraUa the municipal councils
possess wider powers in many directions than is the case in Sydney,
notwithstanding that the latter city is the largest in Australia and
the capital of the oldest state. In Melbourne, the capital of the state
of Victoria, the street tramways are on the cable system and are the
property of a private company. At the end of a certain period of
years (having still about fourteen years to run), the council is to
take over these tramways at their then value. Somewhat similar
schemes have been adopted in Brisbane, the capital of the state of
Queensland, and in Perth, the capital of the state of West Australia,
where street electric tramways have been constructed by private
companies under the authority of the municipalities.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the municipal council of
Sydney is seeking to acquire additional powers, which it claims to be
entitled to exercise. Two bills have been prepared for submission
to Parliament, one of which is to give the council a new building
act on modern lines. This act will provide, inter alia, for the streets
being vested in and under the control of the council, who shall have
civil remedies of the owners of the soil in establishing, maintaining,
and defending public rights ; for the regulation of the position of
gas and water pipes ; for the limitation of the height of buildings
in crowded districts ; for the ventilation of basement floors, and for
damp-proof and rat-proof construction of basements ; for regu-
lating the construction of house-drains and their ventilation ; for
power to close all buildings certified as unfit for human habitation ;
for providing fire-escapes ; and generally for powers dealing with the
construction and alteration of buildings within the city. A great
deal in this direction is already being done by the city surveyor, the
city health officer, and the city building surveyor under the limited
powers they possess, but if the new bill be passed into law, a much
wider scope will be given to the operations of the council.
The other bill is mainly to give the council authority to obtain
rates from public boards and trusts, — e.g., the water and sewerage
board, and Sydney harbor trust commissioners; and to provide
that fees which at present are paid to the government for auctioneers'
licenses, liquor licenses, registration of dogs, supervision of dairies,
weights, and measures, and licensed vehicles shall be handed over
to the city fund.
While it is not unreasonable that the municipal councils of our
[265]
/^
Tlie Annals of the American Academy
capital cities should claim to be entitled to exercise fuller powers
within their boundaries, there are many reasons for supposing that
the Parliament of New South Wales, having been shorn consider-
ably of its former glory by the establishment of federation, will now
be unwilling to delegate any of its remaining authority to any
municipality. We may therefore have to wait the advent of a
Greater Sydney scheme, and the consequent establishment of some
central council on the lines of the famous London County Council.
Certain steps have already been taken towards the creation of a
Greater Sydney, but the question can hardly be said to have gone be-
yond its embryonic stage at present. There are the advocates of
unification and of federation who still require to settle their differ-
ences, and there are a multitude of other initial difficulties upon
which public opinion still remains absolutely uninformed. In this
connection I quote a paragraph from the voluminous Annual Report
for 1902, compiled by the town clerk of Sydney, in which he says :
" The possibilities of Sydney as an ideal municipality are in my opinion
large, and this is a fact practically unchallenged and unchallengeable, but this
can never be attained or developed until the government and the existing
suburban councils actually realize their responsibility in the matter, and are
prepared by a spirit of self-sacrifice and self-abnegation to recognize that an
ideal city with an ideal city government is a goal to be aimed at by all,
irrespective of the internecine conflict engendered by stress of party politics,
state or municipal."
The larger spirit which the federation of the Commonwealth
of Australia will undoubtedly breathe into the national life of the
people will be reflected in their municipal as well as in their political
affairs, and it is therefore to be expected that the extension of our
municipal activities will be more markedly important in the future
than they have hitherto been. Very much yet remains to be done
before ideal municipal government is accomplished. Fortunately
for Australia, its political and municipal institutions have, on the
whole, been hitherto free from those grossly corrupt influences which
have wrought such pernicious results in some other countries. The
apathy of the public, and the indifference which our leading citizens
exhibit towards this important department of local legislation, is
mainly responsible for the shortcomings which undoubtedly do exist.
The control of affairs has been left in the hands of persons who,
however well meaning, are utterlv incapable of adequately dis-
[266]
The Municipal Institutions of Australia 73
charging the responsibiHties of office. The creation of a healthy
pubhc opinion, and the recognition that even in this utiHtarian age
something of the old Roman sacrifice of self for the good of the
state is essential to the honest and efficient administration of public
affairs, will do much to raise our municipal life to a higher plane.
Our best and most capable citizens are so busy attending to their
own personal concerns that, while exercising to the full the Brit-
ishers' privilege of grumbling, they are slow to recognize, and still
slower to accept, any measure of the blame which undoubtedly falls
upon them. Notwithstanding this, however, the outline I have
given of the development of Australian municipal life exhibits the
constant upward and progressive tendencies manifested therein.
We are undoubtedly farther advanced to-day than we were twenty
years ago, and one may reasonably hope that that silent evolution
which is working out its eternal purposes in the social, as truly as
in the physical world, will equip us for the achievement of higher
things in the future.
B. R. Gelling.
Sydney, N. S. W., Australia.
267]
PROBLEMS IN ADMINISTRATION OF MUNICIPAL
CHARITIES
I.
To give or not to give out-door relief is the first and greatest
problem in municipal charity. Shall the city undertake to provide
provisions, fuel, clothing, rent, and other necessaries to needy fami-
lies in their own homes, in addition to maintaining hospitals, alms-
houses, and other institutions ; or shall it limit its activities to the
latter function, leaving the assistance of the poor in their homes to
organized charities, churches, and benevolent individuals? The
problem is not a new one ; in fact, it has been discussed at greater
length than probably any other phase of municipal charity. Ex-
tended experience has been had by large cities on both sides of
the question. The fact that several of the largest cities in the country
have given no out-door relief for a quarter of a century, and that
it is the impression and belief that the poor in those cities are as
well cared for as in the cities giving out-door relief, may be said
to have shown beyond question the practicability of abolishing public
out-door relief in large cities. Those who favor the continuation
of public out-door relief in the few large cities in which it still per-
sists — Chicago, Boston, and Buffalo — would doubtless claim that in
New York the absence of out-door relief, while probably a good
in itself, has led to other evils, notably the sending of large numbers
of children to institutions. The fact that the absence of out-door
relief in other large cities — Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and
others — has not led to this result indicates that other factors must
be regarded as primarily responsible for the large proportion of desti-
tute children in New York City. The question of public out-door
relief in large cities in this country was ably presented to the National
Conference of Charities in 1900 by Mr. Frederick Almy, secretary of
the Charity Organization Society of Buffalo. The experience of.
American cities during the three and a half years since the date of
Mr. Almy's paper tends to strengthen the position of those who
favor the abolition of public out-door relief in large cities. During
this period no city which had discontinued public out-door relief
has re-established it. Societies, churches, and individuals seem to
have proved their ability to meet the situation in different cities and
[268]
Problems in Administration of Municipal Charities 75
under varying conditions, not perfectly, but certainly as well as it
is met by public action. Each year which passes without the resump-
tion of public out-door relief in any large American city strengthens
the argument for its abolition in the small number of large cities in
which it still exists.
It is interesting to note that although the past three years have
shown a very marked swing of the pendulum towards a more gen-
eral recognition of the important part which material relief must
play in the help of needy families in their homes, this fact has not
in any locality, so far as we know, led to even a discussion of the
question of the resumption of general public out-door relief. It has
led charitable societies to strengthen their relief departments, seek
new sources of income for relief purposes, give larger amounts,
and yet it has not in any case led to an agitation for the return of
what was once the well-nigh universal custom of public out-door
relief in all our cities, large and small, as well as in rural districts.
The few years that have elapsed since Mr. Almy's paper was
written have, moreover, served to accentuate the very great advan-
tage of this division of the field as between public and private
charity. The responsibility for the adequate relief of needy families
has been more keenly felt, and this has strengthened the societies
and agencies established for such work. Municipalities have fewer
but more definite responsibilities, and have improved the manage-
ment and material condition of their hospitals and almshouses.
The trend of the past decade in regard to public out-door
relief in American cities is all the more interesting by reason of
the recent ominous increase in dependency in London. The Lon-
don Spectator, of January 2, 1904, devotes a leading editorial,
under the caption of " The Rising Tide of Pauperism," to the
extremely serious recent increase in the number of both out-door
and in-door paupers in the Aletropolitan district, the figures on
Christmas day, 1903, being higher than for any corresponding date
since 1871.
II.
We may place as second in the present problems of municipal
charity, because of its important bearing upon all phases of the
situation, the question of dealing with able-bodied persons, casual
lodgers, tramps, vagrants, etc.
In former years we heard much about " able-bodied paupers."
[269]
76 The Annals of the American Academy
Wc hear the term but seldom nowadays, because most of the class
■who formerly were able-bodied paupers are now able-bodied pris-
oners. Able-bodied pauperism is a misnomer. So long as able-
bodied persons were admitted to almshouses upon application and
upon their own declaration of destitution, or even, as in some cases,
committed by magistrates to almshouses for definite terms, the alms-
house necessarily took on more or less of a correctional character.
It is not too much to say that at the present time in cities whose
municipal charity is generally considered as well administered, no
able-bodied persons are admitted to almshouses or to any other chari-
table institution for extended care. Whatever else should or should
not be done for able-bodied persons who declare themselves destitute
and unable to find work, there is general belief that they should in
the first instance be admitted to a lodging-house for temporary shel-
ter. Under the plan which prevails in New York City and which
seems to stand the test of experience, all able-bodied persons apply-
ing for assistance, whether temporary or permanent, are sent to the
Municipal Lodging-House. The most evident features of this insti-
tution are enforced bathing and cleanliness, fumigation of clothing,
and in general sanitary conditions and regulations. Still more im-
portant, however, from a social point of view, are the careful ques-
tioning of each lodger as to his recent employer, previous residence,
length of time in city, etc., and the paid force of investigators
who, on the following day, visit these references for the purpose
of ascertaining the facts so far as possible as to the character, habits,
and circumstances of the lodger. A large number of the lodgers
come only once or twice. Those who come three times or more and
who by investigation have been found to be tramps or vagrants,
or who have given false references, or have been disorderly in the
lodging-house, or seem to be " suspicious characters," are taken be-
fore magistrates for commitment as vagrants, and if the magistrate
is convinced that such course is proper are sent to the workhouse,
a correctional institution. The officials of the lodging-house must
make out a case to the satisfaction of the magistrate.
The comparatively small number of lodgers who come three
times or more and who upon investigation appear to be men who
are not of the tramp or vagrant class, but are temporarily out of
employment, are allowed to come to the lodging-house for a some-
what longer period. Quite a proportion find temporary employment
[270]
Problems in Ad)iiiiiistratioii of MiDiicipal Charities yj
at low wages in the city institutions, others succeed in finding private
employment. Recently an arrangement has been effected with the
Charity Organization Society by which men of this class are sup-
plied by the lodging-house with wood-yard tickets, enabling them to
earn enough each day at the Charity Organization Society wood-
yard to pay for lodgings and meals and leaving them a considerable
part of the day for further effort to find employment.
The New York City Lodging-House has no " work test." Ex-
perience has led most of those familiar with its workings to believe
that the investigation made by its visitors and the possibility of
commitment have been much more satisfactory in determining the
future treatment of the lodgers than a work test would have been.
III.
The third problem in municipal charities may be stated thus :
What should be the standard of clothing, food, and care in the
municipal almshouse? Shall it have the regime of the prison, or
shall it be a hospital, or is it possible to make it a home? If it is
to be a home, how far can it be made comfortable, clean, sanitary,
and how varied can the food be and how good the clothing, without
making it " too attractive" ? The answer to these questions is being
found in the solution of the second problem stated above. The
elimination of the able-bodied element from the almshouse, together
with the segregation of certain classes of defectives now commonly
sent to State institutions, is making the almshouse a home for the
aged and infirm, or at least a place where none but the aged and
infirm are cared for, and which should be homelike. If the appli-
cations are carefully investigated, so that only those who are actually
unable to earn a livelihood and whose immediate relatives are actually
unable to maintain them, and who are unable to do any regular and
ordinary work, are allowed to enter tlie institution, the danger of
its becoming " attractive" is minimized. We can all assent to higher
standards of care, better food, better clothing, and a more comforta-
ble place for the really infirm, incurable, and senile than we would
favor if able-bodied were also to share in such provision.^
1 The writer's views on this matter were stated before the National Conference of Charities
and Correction at Atlanta, Ga., in May last, in a paper entitled "Disease and Dependency,"
published in Charities of October 3, 1903. The views expressed therein seemed to some to be
extreme, if not dangerous. Further reflection and experience, however, tends to confirm the
writer in the views therein expressed as to the proper standard of management of municipal
homes for the aged and infirm.
[271]
78 The Annals of the American Academy
One of the first 'facts in the situation to be recognized is that
the population of a home for the aged and infirm in a large city
is a very diversified population. It has little homogeneity, aside
from the two facts of physical disability and destitution. It repre-
sents many nationalities, many religions, many previous occupations,
and many different standards of life. It includes all varieties of
disease tliat afflict the aged, and in all degrees. It represents all
attitudes towards its caretaker — the city. It is a little city in itself.
It will, if left to itself, and if its circumstances permit, break up
into many smaller groups on lines of nationality, tastes, and char-
acter. This suggests the lines along which the administration, to
be successful, should be directed. The buildings should be so con-
structed and the labor so directed as to allow some opportunity for
natural groupings, and in particular so as to allow each inmate, able
to do even a little work, to do that which he is most able to do.
While there will be no able-bodied element in our almshouse popu-
lation if it is thoroughly investigated and wisely judged upon ad-
mission, there will also be cornparatively few who are absolutely
helpless. The man who can do only half a day's work by working
all day, the man who can only work half of each day, the man who
has the use of hands but who walks with great difficulty or not at
all, — all these, with hundreds of others, are as certainly debarred
from participation in the ordinary industrial life of the community
as though they were absolutely helpless. Yet very many of them can
do some work, can contribute in some degree towards the orderly
operation of the institution in which they are cared for or towards
the production of some article required in that or some other city
institution. While considerable progress has been made in utilizing
the labor of some of the inmates of our large municipal almshouses,
much remains to be accomplished in this direction. Greater resource-
fulness than is usually found in an institution of this class is re-
quired, however, for devising and carrying to success furtlier efforts
of this character.
In every large population of the aged and infirm, acute illness,
accidents, or conditions requiring surgical operations will continually
develop. The hospital ward is a necessary adjunct of the almshouse.
And if there are included as hospital patients those suffering from
incurable diseases which permit long years of life, the hospital por-
tion becomes a large factor. At the New York City Home for the
[272]
Problems in Administraiion of Municipal Charities ycj
Aged and Infirm, from one-quarter to one-third of the entire popu-
lation are cared for in buildings known as hospitals and organized
so far as practicable on a hospital basis. The diseases are of such
a character that it is difficult, if not impossible, to maintain training-
schools for nurses. It is not that the patients are objectionable or
that the diseases are objectionable, but that they do not afford
sufficient opportunities for the care of acute illness or acute surgical
conditions. The same reason makes it difficult to secure a satis-
factory medical service ; the great majority of cases have but little
interest or " value" to the ordinary practitioner. To provide grad-
uated nurses in any considerable number is impossible because of
the great expense involved. The more usual course is to employ
untrained nurses of about the class who ordinarily go into domestic
service and to employ one or more skilled supervising nurses who
are graduates of training-schools.
It is interesting to note that one of the charges seriously made
against the trustees of pauper institutions in the city of Boston is
that they have maintained a training-school for nurses and have
spent too much money on operating-room furniture. If the trustees
have been able to establish an efficient training-school for nurses in
the almshouse hospital, they should receive general and warm com-
mendation for having devised a plan for securing the best quality
of nursing at the lowest cost. The training-school for nurses is
the most economical plan ever devised for caring efficiently for
the sick in large hospitals. If, by the establishment of the training-
school and by providing hospital operating-room furniture and
other necessary facilities for medical and surgical work, the
trustees of the pauper institutions of the city of Boston have suc-
ceeded in securing efficient nursing and high-grade medical and
surgical service for the hospital portion of their population, they
have measurably solved one of the most difficult problems in mu-
nicipal charitable administration, long recognized as such, both
here and abroad.
IV.
Aside from the hospital portion of the home for the aged and
infirm, every large municipal department of charities finds it neces-
sary to maintain hospitals for the care and treatment of the sick, both
accident and acute cases and those of a more chronic character. A
problem arises as to the proper standards of administration of mu-
[273]
8o The AtDials of the /biicrican Academy
nicipal hospitals: Shall they be as good as the best, or shall they,
in view of the fact that they care only for the destitute, many of
whom have become such probably through their own faults, be con-
ducted on a simpler and less expensive plan? Who has not heard
the wise citizen, the sage doctor of philosophy, or the head of a
wealthy church, in visiting a public hospital, remark under his breath,
but apparently with misgiving, that the patients are receiving better
food and clothing, and withal are more comfortable and are living
under more sanitary and cleanly surroundings than they did in their
own homes? The implication seems to be that the patients are get-
ting better than they deserve, or that it is hardly fair for the citizens
to be called upon to do so much at public expense for this purpose,
or that in some way the social structure is involved in serious though
vague danger in thus forcing higher standards of living upon this
class of people. Never were there more shallow attempts at reason-
ing nor a more thoroughly uncharitable attitude. As has been well
said, the best occupation of tlie sick man is getting well — best not
merely for him, but for his family, for the city which otherwise
continues to contribute to his support in a hospital, and for the com-
munity of which he otherwise remains a non-productive member and
a burden. There can be only one rational, only one truly charitable
standard for the administration of public hospitals : they should be
equal to the best, so far as essentials are concerned. Nothing that
will contribute to recovery is too expensive to be economical. We
can omit ornamental features, but in the essentials of sanitation,
cleanliness, medicines and surgical facilities, clothing, and, above all,
a plentiful supply of food, well cooked and well served, there should
be no scrimping. These conditions not only conduce to the early
cure of the patients, but exert a marked educational influence, and
raise the standards of life of all who become for a time the sub-
jects of city care.
V.
Recent advances in medical science have made the care of con-
sumptives one of the serious problems in municipal charity admin-
istration. Municipal hospitals and almshouses have always sheltered
large numbers of consumptives, but the knowledge of the communi-
cability of the disease in all stages and the curability of some cases
in the earlier stages changes radically the nature of the problem.
It is no longer simply a question of providing shelter, food, and
f-3741
Problems in Administration of Municipal Charilies 8i
clothing- for a given number of unfortunates ; it has become a question
of such care for these sufferers as will protect the other patients and
inmates of the city institutions from infection, will extend to the
consumptives all the opportunities and advantages which modern
science suggests for their improvement, if not for their cure, and
will make the hospital for consumptives a large factor in the sub-
stantial eradication of the " white plague" from our large cities — an
end towards which some of our municipalities are beginning con-
sciously to direct their enormous powers. So great has been the
education of public opinion very recently in this matter that it seems
almost impossible that less than two years ago hundreds of con-
sumptives were still cared for in the general wards of public hos-
pitals in New York City, that other hundreds were in wards devoted
to this disease but in the same buildings as medical and surgical
wards, and that many others were left to wander about the streets
of the city spreading infection and with no place to which they could
turn with certainty of admission and care for any period of time.
The segregation of consumptives from other patients in the hospitals
of New York City during the last two years, the establishment in
the hospital devoted to their care of most of the features which
have been successful in sanatoria for consumptives in other States
and cities, and the set purpose, carried into effect, to turn away no
consumptives asking for care, and to discharge no one from the
Hospital for Consumptives, unless for serious misconduct, except
upon his own urgent request or as substantially cured, have been
considered the most important achievement of the Charities Depart-
ment during the Low administration. The example set by New York
and other cities (New York was not the first to move in the matter,
though it has probably carried its plan into effect more thoroughly
than any other city) should be the adoption of similar measures in
the charities departments of all the large municipalities of the coun-
try. It is not necessary to wait for the construction of expensive
permanent buildings ; tent-cottages or temporary wooden structures
are probably better suited to the purpose, in that they afford better
opportunities for the fresh-air treatment, are much less expensive
at least for the original outlay, and, what is perhaps of greater im-
portance, can be made available with very little delay. The tent-
cottages, of which there are twelve at the Tuberculosis Infirmary
of the Department of Public Charities, on Blackwells Island, accom-
6 [275]
82 The Annals of the American Academy
modating about one hundred and forty patients, were modelled after
a design by Dr. Holmes, of Denver.^
Since the health departments of large cities have begun to clas-
sify tuberculosis as a communicable disease and to require all cases
of tuberculosis coming to the notice of physicians or hospitals to be
reported to such departments, a new question has arisen as to whether
the management of the hospitals for tuberculosis should be placed
under the Department of Health, as is the case with hospitals for
smallpox, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and measles. As a matter of fact,
many of the diseases which contribute most largely to the census
of municipal hospitals are being found to be communicable, though
not in the ordinary sense contagious. Pneumonia, influenza, typhoid
fever, and many other diseases would fall within this latter classifi-
cation, as also leprosy, certain skin diseases, certain eye diseases,
and the venereal diseases. It has never been suggested that all these
diseases should be transferred to the Department of Health, and it
is the opinion of the writer that it is not desirable that they should
be. Their proper care and treatment does not demand the unusual
precautions which are requisite in hospitals for the treatment of the
strictly contagious diseases. There is also, in the writer's opinion,
grave danger that the burdening of the Health Department with the
administration of large series of hospitals for infectious diseases
would almost inevitably result in impairing the efficiency of the work
of that department in those important lines that directly affect the
health of the entire community, such as the protection of food sup-
plies, especially milk and fruit, the protection of the water supply,
the medical examination of school children, etc.
It is very important, however, that the Health and Charities De-
partments should work in complete co-operation and harmony, and
that the Health Department should always be able to refer to the
Department of Charities, for care in its hospital, cases of tubercu-
losis which come to its notice and whose circumstances and habits
are such as to conduce to the spread of the disease. It may be that the
Health Department should exercise its jurisdiction to the extent of
requiring the retention at the hospital of the Charities Department of
cases of tuberculosis who may wish to be discharged but whose
-A detailed account of their construction and of the development of the institution during
the past two years may be found in the quarterly and annual reports of the Department of Public
Charities for 1902 and 1903, and also in the publications of the Committee on the Prevention of
Tuberculosis appointed by the Charity Organization of New York City.
[276]
Problems in Administration of Municipal Charities 83
circumstances are such that proper home care is out of the question,
and who would spread the disease by frequenting lodging-houses,
parks, and other public places, particularly those who cannot be
made to take proper measures for the destruction of their sputum.
While the question of change of climate and change to a great
altitude is considered much less important than formerly, it is likely
that but few cities can find within their limits the proper location for
a sanatorium for incipient or only moderately advanced cases of
tuberculosis. Pure air, attractive surroundings, and opportunity for
moderate exercise in suitable cases are not likely to be found in or
in the immediate neighborhood of large cities. These municipalities
should therefore be given statutory authority to locate sanatoria for
consumptives outside their corporate limits. Such authority was
conferred upon cities of the first class in the State of New York
several years ago, but later legislation so hampered the exercise of
this power, by requiring the consents of so many local authorities,
that it is doubtful whether such sanatoria can be established without
change of legislation. The authorities of New York City have the
matter under consideration, and considerable examination as to avail-
able sites has already been made. If the city makes reasonable effort
to proceed and finds itself unable to secure a suitable site by reason
of local opposition, it cannot be doubted that the law will be changed.
VI.
Municipal charity administration, in common with other
branches of municipal action, has always before it the problem as
to what constitutes the most effective method of administration, an
unpaid board whose membership changes but slowly, or a salaried
commissioner, with definite term or subject to removal by the mayor.
History is being made rapidly on this question. In 1897 the city
institutions of Boston were removed from the jurisdiction of one
paid officer, and placed under the jurisdiction of three boards of
trustees, each board consisting of seven members, serving without
salary. The best-known municipal hospital in New York City. —
Bellevue, — with its three tributary institutions, was placed on Feb-
ruary I, 1902, under a newly appointed board of trustees, seven in
number, serving without salary, the term of one member expiring
each year. The objects sought to be obtained by this change were
the elimination of partisan influences in the hospital, the establish-
[277]
84 The Annals of the American Academy
ment of continuity of policy in its management, and the securing of
higher standards of efficiency in all branches of its service than had
theretofore obtained. It was not claimed that such a board would
be more effective than one official giving his entire time to his
duties if that official were in all respects qualified for his position
and assured of a reasonable tenure of office, but it was contended
that the mutations of municipal politics in New York City were
such that an appointment of the right kind of person for com-
missioner was to be regarded as a happy accident which might
happen once in a great while, rather than as the usual type of
municipal administration of this department.
As Commissioner of Public Charities, the writer was an ex-
officio member of the Board of Trustees of Bellevue and Allied Hos-
pitals during the first two years of its existence, but his part in the
work of that board was so inconsiderable, owing to the pressure of
his duties as Commissioner, that he may speak of the work of the
board without violating the dictates of propriety.
In a word, the new board of trustees has laid deep and secure
the foundations of a new and regenerate Bellevue Hospital, not only
in its physical aspects, but in its management and in its spirit. There
is every reason to believe that this board will succeed in placing the
hospitals under its jurisdiction on a par with the best hospitals of
the country, and that its work will soon receive that same confi-
dence and commendation on the part of the public, and be as much
a matter of municipal pride, as is the case with the Boston City
Hospital and the Boston Public Library. To do this the board must
maintain with each successive administration such relations as will
enable it to secure liberal appropriations, both for maintenance and
for permanent improvements. It must be able to withstand the
insidious efforts which will doubtless appear in all sorts of unlooked-
for places and will be felt through many unsuspected channels, once
more to reinstate favoritism and make the hospital an adjunct to a
political organization.
It is to be hoped that the Bellevue board will not be called upon
to pass through all the experiences which have befallen the trustees
of the pauper institutions of the city of Boston. In the writer's
opinion, no one who has even a moderate acquaintance with their
work can deny that great improvements have been effected by this
board and that the institutions under its jurisdiction have been
[278]
Problems in Administration of Municipal Charities 85
vastly improved and have been much more humanely managed and
are far more creditable to the city of Boston than was the case
under the former system. Yet we have recently seen this board
subjected to a series of plausible charges, brought by one of its
own members, with the assistance of certain disaffected employees
of the board. These charges were, after investigation, placed by
the board itself before the mayor, with the request that he order
an investigation. The investigation was undertaken by a com-
mittee of the Common Council of the city of Boston, which, after
a long inquiry, brought in a majority report (the committee dividing
on strict party lines), which was characterized editorially by the
Boston Herald of December 4, 1903, as " deserving no more con-
fidence than the verdict of a bribed jury." The same authority
states that the investigation was undertaken for the purpose of
securing the abolition of the board of trustees and the re-establish-
ment of a single paid commissioner.
A partisan majority of the committee finds certain of the
charges against the board sustained, and, without suggesting in
what way a change in administration would remedy the conditions
which they think they find to exist, recommends that the legisla-
ture abolish the board of trustees and provide for the appointment
of one salaried commissioner. It does not seem likely that this
recommendation will meet with much favor at the hands of the
legislature of the State of Massachusetts, especially as the minority
of the committee finds every charge against the trustees unfounded.
The incident is significant, however, in showing the persistency of
the influences which would subordinate public charities to political
considerations.
It is not for the writer to speak of the administration of the
Department of Public Charities during the past two years under a
salaried commissioner who had had previous and extended experi-
ence in dealing with charitable questions and who was already
familiar with its institutions, nor to attempt to compare the
rate of change for better or for worse in the Charities Department
during the past two years with any preceding period, nor to attempt
to guess as to the extent to which whatever charges were made
during the past two years will be continued under a different admin-
istration. All this will enter into the history of this question, which,
as stated above, is making rapidly, and on the basis of which some-
[279]
86
The Annals of the American Academy
thing more nearly approaching a consensus of opinion should be
reached within the next decade as to the best form of administration
for miuiicipal charities. Greater than all the problems of the de-
partment and underlying all of them is the greater problem of
securing efficient, disinterested administration.
Homer Folks,
Secretary New York State Charities Aid Association; Commissioner
of Public Charities of New York City, 1^02-1094.
[280]
MUNICIPAL PROBLEMS OF CHICAGO
The fundamental problem with which Chicago now has to cope is
to secure a new city charter. For years every mayor in his annual
message has called attention to this basic need; for years citizens
and associations have directed their every effort towards its solution.
Only when this is accomplished can Chicago take up other pressing
questions with the assurance of being able to solve them successfully
and quickly.
Although this is universally recognized, such were the condi-
tions that for a long time it seem.ed impossible to do anything.
Petty party jealousies prevented uniform action on the part of
Chicago's representatives. The city is Democratic in its politics,
the county Republican, and it seemed as though each party feared
lest any legislation affecting Chicago might affect its political
prestige.
Within the city limits of Chicago there are even to-day not less
than eight separate tax-levying bodies. It is clear that a new charter
would bring about the consolidation of most of these bodies into
one, and every office-holder, therefore, fearing for the loss of his
official head, did everything he could to frustrate any such scheme.
But finally, the steadily growing popular demand for a new charter,
voiced by the city council, by newspapers, and many semi-public
organizations, put a quietus to the opposition, and after much effort
the State legislature last April adopted a resolution " that there
shall be submitted to the electors of this State for adoption or rejec-
tion, at the next election of members of the General Assembly, a
proposition to amend the Constitution of this State."
This amendment gives power to the General Assembly " to pass
any law providing a scheme or charter of local municipal government
for the city of Chicago. The law so passed may provide for con-
solidating in the municipal government of the city of Chicago the
powers now vested in the city, the Board of Education, the township,
park, and other local governments and authorities having jurisdiction
confined to one within said territory." This amendment further
authorizes the legislature to " abolish all offices, the function of
which shall be otherwise provided for; to create municipal courts
in the city of Chicago and abolish the offices of justices of the peace,
[281 1 ■
88 Tlie Annals of the American Academy
police magistrates, and constables in and for the territory within
said city," and finally to " pass all laws which it may deem requisite
to effectually provide a complete system of local municipal govern-
rhent in and for the city of Chicago."
Next November this proposed amendment to the constitution
will be submitted to the suffrage of the voters of the State. While
it is hoped that it will be adopted, this is by no means certain, al-
though Chicago casts about one-third of the entire vote of the State.
In the excitement and uproar of a Presidential election the special
ballot is easily lost sight of, and home dissensions or apathy of the
voters may defeat the object in view, as the constitution provides
that only " if a majority of the electors voting at said election shall
vote for the proposed amendments, they shall become part of this
constitution." That such a thing is thought possible is proved by
the fact that the City Council of Chicago has recently appointed a
special committee of seven which is to carry on a campaign on behalf
of the amendment.
If the amendment is adopted, the next legislature, meeting in
January, 1905, may and undoubtedly will " pass all laws which it
may deem requisite to effectually provide a complete system of local
municipal government for the city of Chicago." And then the
struggle will begin. Every interest that will be affected by a con-
solidating measure will fight for its existence; fencing for party
advantage, " wire-pulling," " log-rolling," and every other political
device known will be brought to play upon the " country legislator,"
who, not being familiar with the needs of a large city, and bewil-
dered by the many demands made upon him, will not know which
way to turn, and may possibly defeat the honest efforts of the well-
meaning members of the assembly.
That this is not a pessimistic view may be seen from the expe-
rience had when the resolution for the constitutional amendment
was before the legislature. In April, 1900, Mayor Carter H. Har-
rison, in his annual message to the City Council, said, " We can
weld the present taxing bodies exercising municipal functions within
the limits of Chicago into an harmonious whole by which useless
officers may be dispensed with." And again, in April, 1902, the
mayor recommended : " Earnest effort should be made to bring
about the ultimate extinction of all separate taxing bodies except
the city of Chicago and the Board of Education within Chicago's
[282]
Municipal Problems of Chicago 89
limits. The towns, the parks, the sanitary district, and the county,
all should be brought under one common care and direction. . . .
The fact of Chicago's management of public affairs and exercise
of municipal functions being divided up among eight. different cor-
porations, each levying its own taxes, maintaining its full comple-
ment of officers and employees, managing its own affairs, and spend-
ing its own money without regard to unity of action or community
of purpose, works irremediable injury to good local government.
. . . The divided responsibility for government in the territory of
Chicago between the county and the city is productive of evil and
should speedily and permanently be ended."
These recommendations of Mayor Harrison were generally ap-
proved by public opinion and urged upon the legislature by the
Council, the Civic Federation of Chicago, and other societies, but
with all their efforts they succeeded only in securing the amendment
in a garbled form.
The most important thing that Chicago will have to get from
the State legislature will probably be the hardest task of all, — namely,
a change of the revenue laws. As the matter stands to-day, the city
does not receive nearly as much revenue from taxation as it ought
to have. Not that the taxes should be higher; they are — although
lower than in most other cities — fully high enough if they were only
paid as honestly by the large property interests as they are by the
smaller tax-payer. The property, real and personal, within the limits
of the great city of Chicago, with its area of 190.6 square miles,
its nearly two millions of inhabitants, its stupendous business in-
terests, its magnificent palaces, and its many multi-millionaires,
represents a far greater value than a little over two billions of
dollars, the present valuation figure. This is but about $10,700,000
per square mile, while New York's valuation is not less than thirty
millions per square mile; Boston's, $27,700,000; Philadelphia's,
$12,600,000, and Baltimore's, $15,400,000. What makes the present
revenue laws particularly inadequate for the needs of the city is the
plan prescribed for the distribution of the taxes. Under the law^
taxes are levied upon the so-called " assessed" value of all property,
equal to one-fifth of the " full" value, which in reality is rarely more
than about 70 to 80 per cent, of its " actual" value. The tax-rate
is limited to 5 per cent, of the assessed value, for all purposes except
State, school buildings, and bonded indebtedness taxes. When the
[283]
90 The Annals of the American Academy
aggregate of all the taxes exceeds the limit of 5 per cent., the county
clerk is required to reduce the rates for the various taxing bodies,
so as to bring the total within the legal limit. As the county clerk
has great power in establishing the rate, it is not very surprising
that he could not and did not resist the temptation to favor those
of the eight taxing bodies that were of the same political faith as
he, to the disadvantage of the others, and the city government, the
Board of Education, and the Library Board were for years the suf-
ferers. Their proportion of the tax levy was regularly reduced to
as low a figure as the law would possibly permit. The charter limit
for the city rate is 2 per cent. For 1902 the rate was scaled down
to 1.582, and for the year 1903 still further to 1.563, while the rates
for the other taxing bodies were either increased or at least remained
nearly the same, so that, although the valuation had been increased
for these two years, the city, on account of the reduced rate, profited
but very little by this fact. Out of the total amount of taxes, about
twenty-five millions, raised within the city limits, less than 25 per
cent, are allotted to the city government for its corporate purposes.
Of course, the proposed consolidation of nearly all the taxing
bodies would in some degree remedy this defect, but as even after
consolidation there will be at least three taxing bodies, the law should
fix a definite rate for each of these and further clearly define the
rights and powers of the county clerk in this direction, so that each
body would know exactly where it stands.
Another change of the tax laws that would be most desirable
for the city of Chicago would be the increase of the assessable value
from one-fifth to the full value and the corresponding decrease of
the rate from five to one per cent. While this change would appa-
rently leave the result in statu quo, it would have the great advan-
tage of making the valuation absolutely clear, and thus enable the
people much better to discover any possible mistake on the part
of either the property owner or the assessor. The average man
can see no valid reason why the law should play hide-and-seek with
the valuations. There is another advantage the city would secure
by such a change of the revenue law. The constitution limits the
bonded indebtedness of the State to " five per centum on the value of
the taxable property therein," and the Supreme Court a few years ago
decided that the term " value" in that clause must be interpreted
to mean the " assessed value," although the makers of the consti-
[284]
Municipal Problems of Chicago 91
tution knew nothing of " one-fifth" vakies or of any " assessed"
values arbitrarily established by legislative enactment. To them the
word " value" had only one meaning, and they hardly had the inten-
tion of reducing the power of cities to issue bonds to some arbitrary
limit that the legislature might fix. Chicago to-day cannot issue
a single dollar's worth of bonds, nor has it been able to do so for
many years. The entire bonded indebtedness is but $15,123,000, or
less than eight dollars per capita of its population, and includes
$4,500,000 issued by the city in behalf of the World's Columbian
Exposition, under authority of a special grant by the legislature.
The remainder was issued before this generation, in the days after
the great fire, in the early '70's, and the great city of to-day is thus
prevented by this inheritance from the past to raise the funds for
the many improvements so necessary for its welfare. The need
for a bond issue is generally recognized, and the proposed con-
stitutional amendment contains a clause specifically authorizing the
legislature to pass a law permitting the city to become indebted to
an amount in the aggregate not exceeding 5 per cent, of the full
value of all property within its limits.
To secure this special law, or a general revision of the tax laws,
necessary as it may be, is likely to prove a most difficult thing. The
outside counties do not require these changes as much as Chicago,
and it will therefore be no easy matter to win over enough legislators
from those districts to overcome the opposition.
That something will be done by the legislature of 1905 is almost
certain, and that this will not turn out to be worse than the present
is also probable, as it is left to the people of Chicago finally to accept
or reject any charter law that the General Assembly may pass. It
will, therefore, be at least another year and a half before Chicago
will be in the position to do anything towards the solution of the
many problems it has before it.
Chicago has to-day the best City Council in its history. In seven
years not a single measure has been passed by the Council that could
arouse suspicion. Chicago has remained absolutely free from the
corruption and scandal that has wrecked the reputation of so many
fair cities in our land.
Political " pull" has disappeared from the municipal govern-
ment, all of its nine thousand employees being under a strict civil
service system, sought to be carried out honestly to the minutest
[285]
92 Tlic Annals of the American Academy
detail. Its system of accounting is to-day in excellent shape; slip-
shod methods have been abolished entirely ; no private use of public
property is granted without adequate compensation to the city
treasury, and the government is making earnest efforts to conduct
the administration in all its branches on business principles.
One of the great works that has been carried on for more than
ten years and is fast nearing completion is that of elevating the rail-
road tracks within the city limits. Other cities have had to con-
tribute from 30 to 60 per cent, of the cost of such work; Chicago
succeeded not only in making the railroads bear the entire cost, with
the exception of less than $6000 per annum for maintenance of
the city's track elevation department, but also in having the work
carried on without interruption. Since May, 1892, when the work
was begun, until December 31, 1903, not less than 80.67 miles of
main tracks and 420.19 miles of other tracks have been elevated and
351 subways constructed at a total cost of about $25,500,000, not a
single cent of which came out of the pockets of the tax-payers.
Under ordinances already passed and accepted by the railroad com-
panies, 57.43 miles of main track and 279.76 miles of other tracks
are yet to be elevated, and 186 subways to be constructed. The
cost of the entire work yet to be completed under the ordinances
is estimated at a little over $18,000,000. Within a few years this
great undertaking will have been completed, and then not a single
foot of railway track, not a single deadly grade-crossing will remain
to endanger the lives of the people.
Another important work being carried on by the city and near-
ing completion is the construction of a system of intercepting sewers
which is designed to divert the flow of all sewage now being
emptied into Lake Michigan, so that it will be carried into the
Chicago River, and thence into the main drainage canal of the
Sanitary District, thus obliterating the danger of polluting Chicago's
water supply.
As Chicago has more than fifteen hundred miles of sewers, the
magnitude of this undertaking can hardly be grasped. Since the
work began in 1898, more than one hundred thousand lineal feet of
intercepting sewers, having a diameter up to twenty feet, have been
built at a total cost of about $3,500,000, and what is still more re-
markable, not one cent of this amount was obtained from taxation,
the entire cost of the undertaking being defrayed out of the net
[286]
Municipal Problems of Chicago 93
earnings of the water-works. Whether this system wiH forever keep
the city's water pure, or whether it will become necessary to purify
the supply by some system of filtration or other artificial purification,
is a problem for the future.
A problem that is engaging the attention of many cities has,
at least in part, been satisfactorily solved by Chicago, — the problem
of performing municipal work by the direct labor plan as against
the private contract system. In the construction of new land tun-
nels, the work had to be completed by the city under the direct labor
plan, as the contractors had failed to carry out their contract and
suspended operations. The city completed the work, which offered
most serious obstacles, without difficulty, and at a cost less than the
contract had provided for. To-day the city is engaged in construct-
ing part of the above-mentioned intercepting sewers by direct labor,
it having been found that the work can be performed by the city at
a cost less than the lowest contract price offered. Not only does
the city, by this system, profit through the savings in the original
cost, but it also escapes thereby the exactions of contractors in the
shape of bills for " extras," from which cause it has seriously suf-
fered for many years.
The best test of the advantages of the direct labor system, how-
ever, has been in the work of collecting garbage. Until 1898 the
city had awarded the work of removing the garbage to contractors.
To-day the city employs the teams and the men individually, and
the work is performed under the supervision of the ward superin-
tendent cheaper and more satisfactorily to the public than under
the contract system. While in 1897, the last full year of the contract
system, eight thousand eight hundred garbage complaints were regis-
tered, this number has shrunk to about fourteen hundred in 1902,
and nine hundred in 1903.
On the other hand, improvement work carried out by contract,
such as street paving, is steadily getting more and more unsatisfac-
tory, and its cost so high as to be nearly prohibitive, so that property
owners who, under the law, have to pay for paving by special assess-
ment, are averse to make any such improvements. Chicago, like many
other cities, is in the grasp of a powerful contractors' combination,
and it will remain helpless until, by charter amendment, the city
is enabled to establish its own department of construction, under
which all municipal work may be performed by the direct labor
plan.
[287]
94 The Annals of the American Academy
Providing for small parks and playgrounds in the overcrowded
districts of the city is another problem that Chicago is solving at
present. Despite its immense territory, Chicago has but a small
park area, comprising not more than two thousand two hundred and
eighty-five acres, of which nearly two thousand one hundred acres
are part of the great park system in each of the three main divisions
of the city. On account of their great distances from the densely
populated district, these parks are not easily accessible to the masses
of the people. This leaves but about one hundred and eighty-five
acres for the small parks, which are very unequally distributed. In
fact, not less than nine of the largest wards of the city, having an
area of twenty-one thousand one hundred and forty-four acres and a
total population of nearly five hundred thousand, have no park area
at all.
The necessity of creating new breathing spots for the poorer
classes became very urgent, and in November, 1899, Mayor Harri-
son, by authority of the City Council, appointed a Small Parks Com-
mission, consisting of ten aldermen, a representative of each of the
three regular park boards, and nine citizens. The commission de-
cided to transfer the establishment of the small parks to the various
park boards, and legislation was obtained from the General Assem-
bly whereby these boards were authorized to acquire, improve, and
maintain small parks or playgrounds not exceeding ten acres in
area each. Further acts authorize the boards to issue $2,500,000
in bonds for these purposes, leaving the expenditure of the moneys
with the commissioners of the three park boards, the Small Parks
Commission acting in an advisory capacity. Exhaustive reports were
prepared dealing with the conditions which prevail in the districts
of congested population remote from the existing parks, and recom-
mendations made for small parks for the purpose of relieving these
conditions.
These park boards are now engaged in the task of purchasing,
either by private contract or by condemnation proceedings, the sites,
and within a short time some twenty-five or thirty small parks will
be added to Chicago's park area.
Meanwhile, the City Commission did not rest idly, but began to
establish playgrounds. The Council granted for that purpose the
use of property belonging to the city, and a small appropriation
enabled it properly to equip these grounds and place them under
[288]
Municipal Problems of Chicago 95
supervision of trained directors. Then several public-spirited citi-
zens took an interest in the matter. Some gave the free use of land,
others donated equipment, money, medals. Since the commission
began its work three years ago it has established nine public play-
grounds, which, during 1903, were attended by not less than seven
hundred and thirty-four thousand boys and girls. The Council appro-
propriated in these three years the total sum of $56,500 for the sala-
ries of the directors, purchase of equipment, maintenance of the
grounds, and all other expenses. Circle, ball, and dance games, sing-
ing, marching. Maypole dances, and similar entertainments for the
smaller children are conducted under the supervision of trained
women, while athletic sports, gymnastics, drills, and games for the
larger boys and girls are under supervision of the directors of the
playgrounds and a general athletic director. In winter these grounds
are converted into skating rinks.
While Chicago has been and is successfully solving all of these
problems, each important, each bearing upon the well-being and the
progress of its citizens, many other most serious problems demand
immediate attention. But no matter how great the necessity, no
matter how anxious the authorities, how clamorous the demand of
the people, here Chicago for the present stands helpless because the
solution of these problems rests upon the one conditio sine qua non,
— money.
First of all comes the problem of providing for adequate police
protection. Chicago expends annually about $3,300,000, or more than
one-half of its entire income from taxation, for police purposes.
This is much less per capita than in other large cities. In 1901,
according to Carroll D. Wright, New York expended for police pur-
poses $3.21 per capita; Philadelphia, $3.20 per capita; St. Louis,
$2.88 per capita; Boston, $5.03 per capita; Chicago, $2.19 per
capita. Although Chicago has grown in area and population, its
expenditures for police purposes have remained nearly stationary for
more than ten years. No matter how much the authorities tried,
it was found impossible to provide for more police protection. From
the lack of it, Chicago's good name has suffered more than from
any other cause; has been exposed to the malicious attacks of ill-
meaning individuals; has been made the target of unjust criticism
from that part of the press whose political or personal antagonism,
hatred, and prejudice against the administration blind it to the real
[289]
96 The Annals of the American Academy
conditions. To such an extent has this been carried on, that even
well-meaning citizens became prejudiced and were led to take steps
that, instead of repairing Chicago's reputation, still more impair it.
Even now a Citizens' Committee has been formed for " the sup-
pression of crime," and large amounts of money are being raised
for its purpose. It is said that they will begin work by investi-
gating the Police Department.
In proportion to its area and population, Chicago has the small-
est police force of any large city in the world. At present the total
number of employees in the department, including clerks, drivers,
keepers, matrons, operators, laborers, etc., is only three thousand two
hundred and five, of which two thousand seven hundred and sixty-
five are officers ; of these, two thousand four hundred and forty-two
are patrolmen. Even if every one of these would be available for
actual patrol service, each one would have to guard a territory aver-
aging fifty acres. But in fact not more than about thirteen hundred
are available for patrol duty, the remainder being assigned to duty
at street crossings, depots, docks, markets, city offices, courts, etc.
That it is utterly impossible for any one man to guard properly so
large a territory is plain.
That the officers, as a rule, do not shirk their dangerous duty
is shown by the fact that the average number of arrests to each
officer is greater in Chicago than in most other cities. In the year
1900 the number of arrests for burglary, robbery, and larceny to
each member of the police force was: New York, 1.63; Chicago,
2.33; Philadelphia, 1.23 ; St. Louis, 0.93 ; Boston, 2.65. The aver-
age territory and average number of arrests to each member of the
force in 1902 was : New York, 27.04 acres and 19 arrests ; Chicago,
43.6 acres and 25.1 arrests; Philadelphia, 27.5 acres and 21.2 ar-
rests; St. Louis, 31.9 acres and 20.8 arrests; Boston, 22.2 acres and
28.4 arrests.
Even if it were true that Chicago has a larger number of
burglaries and robberies than other large cities, this, considering
all the circumstances, would not be surprising, but no amount of
criticism or investigations will afford any relief in this regard.
There can be only one remedy, and that is the increase of the
police force. If the various committees and societies would direct
their efforts towards helping the city to get sufficient means for
[290]
Municipal Problems of Chicago 97
this, they would render a real puhlic service, and prove beyond
contradiction that they really have the welfare of Chicago at heart.
For years Chicago has been most seriously confronted by the
problem how to dispose of its garbage. This has become so acute
that it must be solved in the near future. How in the face of the
city's poverty this will be possible is a question that is worrying the
authorities. To-day Chicago is still following the barbarous custom
of depositing this garbage in clay holes or on low-lying lands, util-
izing for filling what ought to be absolutely destroyed, thus making
it a source of discomfort and a menace to the health of the com-
munity. Many of these clay holes have been filled. Residences have
been built in such close proximity to such holes that their further
use as dumping grounds had to be discontinued. New dumps had
to be found far away from human habitation. But the stupendous
growth of Chicago has made this so difficult, that most of the
grounds used for dumping purposes are located from two to nine
miles from the districts where the garbage is collected, and an aver-
age haul of five miles is required for each load. In consequence of
this the cost of hauling away the garbage has been increased, and
although the garbage-collecting service has been greatly improved
by the direct employment of labor, as shown above, this rather in-
creases than decreases the difficulty of disposing of it.
Chicago removes daily about four thousand cubic yards of
garbage, at a cost, in 1902, of forty cents per cubic yard, and it is
clear that with such immense quantities every possible available
place will soon be filled. If the city had sufficient funds, it would
be an easy matter to solve this problem, as the various methods of
disposing of garbage have for years been carefully studied. City
officials and Council committees have thoroughly inspected reduction
and incineration plants in other cities, plans have been prepared, and
every step has been taken to be in readiness as soon as the money
is there. In 1900 the Council made an appropriation of $100,000
with which to make a start in the right direction, but the money
was not available and the matter had to be dropped. Private corpo-
rations offered to build reduction plants and take care of the city's
garbage under a five years' contract, but the law prohibits the Council
from making any contract extending over the time of its own life, —
one year, — and, of course, capital withdrew. The present financial
situation of the city does not hold out any encouragement, and the
7 [291]
98 The Annals of the American Academy
solution of the problem will probably be held in abeyance until the
legislature comes to the aid of the city next year.
The approaching solution of the transportation question has
aroused the people of Chicago. For many years the city has had
the worst transportation service in the world. For years the people
have suffered from accommodations which have violated every con-
ceivable rule of health, of comfort, and of decency, until they have
lost all patience, and have made up their minds that there shall be
an immediate and lasting change. The people of Chicago have thor-
oughly studied the transportation question ever since 1897, when the
street railway corporations, after inducing the State legislature to
pass the notorious " Allen" law, tried to obtain a prolongation of
their franchises for fifty years. They signally failed in this, and
so strong an opposition developed against the fifty-year law that
many legislators who had voted for it were defeated at the polls,
and the legislature of 1899 was forced to repeal it, leaving the law
in its former status, which gives to cities the power to grant street
railway franchises for a period not exceeding twenty years.
Since that time the street railway corporations have planned and
schemed to obtain a renewal of the franchises on their trunk lines,
which expired on July 31, 1903. Had they gone before the Council
with anything like a reasonable proposition, had they shown any
willingness to comply with the demands of the people as voiced by
Mayor Harrison in his message of 1899, it may be presumed that
they would have received a renewal of their franchises for twenty
years without any difficulty. But such was not their policy. In
that memorable message Mayor Harrison pointed out that in an
extension of the street railway franchises the following five points
must be considered :
1. Compensation based upon a percentage of the gross receipts.
2. A reduction of fare during the crowded hours of the day.
3. An improvement of the accommodations for the public.
4. A provision for municipal ownership of the lines at the expi-
ration of the grant.
5. A requirement that before any ordinance granting an exten-
sion of franchise shall become operative, it shall first be submitted
to a direct vote of the people, and receive popular endorsement.
These demands were not to the liking of the railway corpora-
tions ; they did not believe that the people really wanted these things ;
[292]
Municipal Problems of Chicago 99
and they set out to defeat the mayor, in which effort they utterly
failed. " The streets belong to the people" became the slogan of
the campaigns.
Then the companies tried a new plan. They proclaimed that
they would not need a new franchise; that their present franchises
were valid until 1957 under an act they had obtained in 1865 over
the veto of the then governor of Illinois, Richard J. Oglesby, pro-
longing the life of the companies to ninety-nine years. The methods
employed in the passage of this bill were so notoriously venal, vicious,
and shameless, that the press of the day openly charged the use of
corruption funds, and the act, asserted to have been " conceived in
sin and brought forth in iniquity," was denounced in unmeasured
terms from one end of the State to the other. Twenty years ago,
in 1883, the question of the legality or illegality of this act was
laid over for future consideration and adjudication. In the years
which have since passed, no steps were taken to settle the dispute.
As soon as the companies had unmasked their designs, the mayor
and the Council immediately embodied in their conditions, and the
people practically unanimously demanded, as an absolute pre-
requisite to an extension of franchise grants, a final and unequivocal
surrender of whatever rights the companies may have obtained by
this piece of legislation. The adjudication of any rights the com-
panies may possibly have under this act is now pending in the
courts.
To-day the situation in the street railway question is as follows :
One of the companies, the Union Traction Company, went into bank-
ruptcy some months ago and is in the hands of a receiver appointed
by a federal judge, who will pass on the validity of the ninety-nine
year act within a few weeks. It may be stated here that even if
the courts should decide in favor of the act, the city could by a new
car license ordinance — the old one just having expired — obtain a
fairly adequate compensation for the use of the city's streets, while
most of the other public demands could be secured through manda-
tory ordinances passed under the city's police powers.
The other company, the City Railway Company, is negotiating
with the local transportation committee of the Council for a new
twenty-year franchise, and an ordinance is expected to be submitted
to the Council at a very early date. The company was willing to
accede to all demands of the Council, and the only point of diflfer-
[293]
lOO The Annals of flic American Academy
ence was the question of compensation, the committee demanding
ten per cent. — many of its members twenty per cent. — of the gross
income, while the company is offering a compensation of five per
cent., same to be in Heu of all taxes and license fees. But very
recently another snag w^as encountered. Some members of the
Council committee demanded that provision be made in the ordi-
nance enabling the city to take over the system after ten years. The
mayor has stated that the period after which the city should have
the right to buy the company's property should be less than twenty
years, while the company has declared that it would consider no
proposition for a period of less than twenty years. But even if an
agreement between the company and the committee, or even the
council, should be reached, it is very doubtful whether the company
will get a twenty-year franchise or any franchise at all. For the
ordinance, before it becomes operative, must be submitted to the
people for approval or rejection. The mayor and the aldermen are
pledged to the referendum, and there can be no doubt that they will
faithfully stand by their pledges. What the people will do in case
of the passage of an ordinance acceptable to the Council, no one can
foretell. They are as confident as ever that the mayor will protect
the rights of the people; but while they were suffering from the
iniquities of the service, they have sought to inform themselves on
all phases of the question ; and while five or six years ago a fair
franchise would have willingly been given, to-day a mighty cry is
raised for municipal ownership of the street railways.
This desire for municipal ownership has gone farther than a
mere wish for decent and comfortable facilities. Chicagoans have
been educated to the idea " that in public ownership lies the sole,
fair, just, and reasonable method of handling all those utilities, for
the operation of which the practically exclusive use of public prop-
erty is required." A large percentage of the people fully believe
in this policy, because they have not only studied conditions else-
where, but for many years they have witnessed two splendid exam-
ples of municipal ownership at home.
The city owns its water-works, which were acquired as early
as 1854. Its mains, having an aggregate length of nearly nineteen
hundred miles, extend into the remotest part of the city's territory ;
the service is in every way satisfactory, except as to the purity of
the water at certain times, — a fault now being remedied. The rates
[294]
Municipal Problems of Chicago lOl
are exceedingly low, the meter rate ranging from ten cents per one
thousand gallons when one hundred and sixty-five thousand gallons
are used per month, to four cents per one thousand gallons when
more than ten million gallons per month are required. The frontage
rates per annum are on the basis of four dollars and fifty cents for a
one-story house, from fifteen to eighteen feet wide, including all
so-called sanitary fixtures.
The Water- Works Department, like all other city departments,
is under strict civil service rule, and so successfully are its affairs
administered that the revenues exceed the cost of maintenance about
two millions of dollars per annum. The surplus is used for extend-
ing and improving the system.
The municipal electric street-lighting plant furnished another
lesson in municipal ownership. The city began to manufacture its
own electric light for lighting streets as early as 1887. In that
year a power-house was erected and one hundred and five arc lights
placed in operation at a total expenditure of $39,976.25. At the end
of the first ten years the city operated one thousand two hundred
and fifty-four arc lights, and had expended for construction and
operation during these ten years a total of $1,693,222.51. If the
same number of lights had been rented, the city would have had
to pay the sum of $1,269,445, without owning anything. Beginning
with 1897, the number of lights was greatly increased, and to-day
there are operated nearly five thousand city arc lights, at an average
cost per lamp per year of $53.51 (1902), while the city still rents
about six hundred lights at an average cost of $103 per lamp.
In other words, for practically the same amount it would have
cost the city to light the streets by means of rented arc lights,
not only has the city operated its own lights, but has acquired five
modern lighting plants, representing an investment of more than
$1,300,000. The total cost of lighting the streets of Chicago, in-
cluding gas, gasoline, and all electric lights, representing a total
candle-power of 11,600,000, in the year 1902, was $936,179.18, as
against a cost of $936,372.43 in 1893 for lights with a total candle-
power of 3,330,000.
Surely, practical lessons like these two were not lost, and, based
upon them, the idea of municipal ownership gained a firm hold on
the people of Chicago. Its strength was tested in the fall election
of 1902 when two propositions were submitted to the people for
[295]
I02 The Annals of the American Academy
an expression of opinion. On the first question : " Are you in favor
of municipal ownership of street railways?" 142,826 men voted in
the affirmative, and 27,998 in the negative. The vote on the second
question : " Are you in favor of municipal ownership of gas and
electric light plants?" was 139,999 y^^ ; 21,364 no. The total vote
cast in the election was 282,507. While the result had no legal effect,
it certainly showed beyond doubt the sentiment of the people.
The way to municipal ownership has been paved by the so-called
Mueller law, passed in April, 1903. This law enables cities to own
and operate their street railways, and further contains a provision
that no franchise grant to a private corporation shall go into effect
unless approved by the people, provided that ten per cent, of the
voters petition for submission of the ordinance within sixty days
after its passage by the Council. Headed by Mayor Harrison, a
strong committee of public-spirited citizens of both parties appeared
before the legislature, and so firm was their attitude, so convincing
were their arguments, that the law was passed. It does not go into
effect for Chicago until approved by a majority of the voters in the
city. An ordinance submitting it to the people in the coming spring
election will undoubtedly be passed by the City Council within a few
days. At the same election there will be submitted to the people,
under the public policy law, the following two questions bearing on
this subject and petitioned for as provided in that law by 25 per
cent, of the voters of the city:
1. Shall the City Council, upon the adoption of the Mueller law,
proceed without delay to acquire ownership of the street railways
under the powers conferred by the Mueller law?
2. Shall the City Council, instead of granting any franchises,
proceed at once, under the city's police powers and other existing
laws, to license the street railway companies until municipal owner-
ship can be secured, and compel them to give satisfactory service?
As soon as the Mueller law has been accepted by the city, the
legal obstacles to municipal ownership will be out of the way.
Hugo S. Grosser,
Municipal Statistician of Chicago.
296]
RECENT PROGRESS IN TENEMENT-HOUSE REFORM
The chief mile-stones which mark the progress of tenement-
house reform during the years 1902 and 1903 are the enactment
of a tenement-house ordinance in Chicago, the enactment of a tene-
ment-house law for cities of the second class in Pennsylvania, the
appointment of tenement-house commissions in the State of New
Jersey and in the city of Boston, the successful operation of the
New York Tenement-House Law for cities of the first class in New
York, and its enforcement in the largest city of that State by a
special city department known as the Tenement-House Department,
which came into existence on January i, 1902.
In Philadelphia, a citizens' investigation of conditions has been
established on a firm basis, and an important change in the law and
its enforcement is sure to result. In Cleveland, a similar citizens'
movement is well under way, and a new law, based on the New York
act, is being framed. Similar movements are on foot in Washington,
Baltimore, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Kansas City, as well as in
some of the smaller cities of the State of New York. All these
movements testif}' to the public interest on this important subject,
and to the extent to which that interest has been increasing.
It is suggestive also to note the different initiatives on which
these movements have been started and the different needs to which
they are directed, as illustrating their general character, and as also
illustrating the practical American trait of adapting the means to the
end. The Chicago movement, like that which culminated in the en-
actment of the New York law, was in its inception a philanthropic
movement. It was started by the City Homes Association, and it
resulted in the passage of a new city ordinance. The New Jersey
movement, on the other hand, had its initiative with the governor of
the State, the Honorable FrankHn Murphy, of Newark, who, on his
own motion, brought the subject before the legislature and secured
the appointment of the present State commission. That commission
has not yet made its report,^ but it is expected to recommend a per-
manent State tenement commission to execute a State law. The Bos-
ton movement was initiated by social reformers, but took its present
1 Since this article was written the report has been made and its recommendations urged
upon the legislature by a special message from the governor. — Ed.
[297]
104 ^'^"^ Annals of the American Academy
form at the instance of Boston's enlightened mayor, Mr. Patrick Col-
Hns, who has just been re-elected by an overwhelming majority for a
second term, and while its report has not yet been made, it is gener-
ally understood that it will be directed towards amendment of State
law, and will not recommend any permanent tenement department for
city or State. The non-political character of this national movement
for better housing conditions is further illustrated by the fact that the
governor of New Jersey and the mayor of Boston belong to different
political parties.
The housing evils, to remedy which the movement is directed,
are, in New Jersey and in Boston, as in New York, chiefly the evils
of the taller tenement, — lack of light and air. Those in Washington,
Philadelphia, and measurably in Boston too, are quite as much
slum conditions in the back alleys, a form of city development which
does not exist in New York.
The most instructive advances of the past two years in the
practical operation of tenement reform, however, relate to the work-
ings of the New York law and to the experience of the New York
Tenement-House Department, charged with the enforcement of that
law in the great city of New York. It is with these subjects that
I am most familiar, and it is of these subjects that I propose mainly
to treat in this article.
More than two years have now elapsed since the New York
law went into effect, and since that time its enforcement in the
largest city of that State has, under Mayor Low's appointment, been
in the hands of its framers. During that period there have been
two sessions of the legislature, at each of which the provisions of
this law have been an important issue. Numerous amendments have
been proposed, all more or less hostile to the new law. The contest
has been a bitter one from start to finish. When the new law was
introduced in 1901 it aroused strong opposition in the building
trades and among owners of unrefgrmed tenement houses, and an
effort was made at that time to defeat it. Failing in this, the attack
was renewed in 1902 and again in 1903. The main sources of
opposition in these two years were certain building interests in
Brooklyn, and the owners of the old houses in Manhattan. A
fierce and bitter campaign was waged during both sessions of the
legislature, and had it not been for strong public opinion, voiced
by the press and supported by Governor Odell and the city adminis-
[298]
Recent Progress in Teneuient-IIonse Reform 105
tration, the cause of tenement-house reform might have been lost.
No amendments, however, were adopted except those sanctioned by
its friends and introduced at their instance.
The enactment of this new law making radical changes in the
type of future tenements, involving so much structural alteration
in old tenements, and concentrating the enforcement of the new
law, in the city of New York, in a new and separate city department,
was undoubtedly unexpected by tenement owners and tenement
builders. Up to the time when the New York State Commission
of 1900 presented its report to the legislature, they had seemed
indifferent. They had practically ignored the opportunity urged
upon them by the commission, and availed of by many other inter-
ests, of appearing at its public sessions and of stating their views
and desires. They did not attend any legislative hearing in large
numbers. It was not until the bill had passed both houses of
the legislature that they made their attitude known. On the part
of larger building and real estate interests, that attitude was one
of silent doubt — silent because many of them earnestly desired to
improve the housing conditions of the working classes, and hesi-
tated to oppose the recommendations of the commission, which in-
cluded many of their own number, and silent, too, because both the
governor and legislature were known to be favorable to the law,
and opposition, particularly from interested sources, was not likely
to be effective. On the part of smaller property owners and specu-
lative builders that attitude was one of loud-voiced protest, which
vainly demanded a veto from the governor.
The new law, with its larger court areas, changed the type of
tenement. It was experimental in this respect to an unusual degree.
Moreover, in making the new tenement more light, more sanitary,
and more fireproof, it made it more expensive. Would this required
change in form suit the desires of tenants, who had been so long
habituated to the darkness and closeness of the dumb-bell as to
perhaps shun more light and ventilation? Would not its improved
construction increase its cost so as to make the new tenement com-
mercially unprofitable, and thus not only stop building, but depre-
ciate the value of land which would remain unoccupied because
building had ceased? Would not the compulsory alteration of old
tenements involve large expense to their owners without any corre-
sponding compensation in added income? »
[299I
io6 The Annals of the American Academy
These were questions which from the point of view of land-
owner and builder, judging the law in reference to its immediate
effect on their own personal interests, and without regard either to
the future value of their own property or to the present and future
welfare of the tenement dwellers and the community at large, might
have been answered in the affirmative. Even those who were quite
ready to consider the welfare of the tenant class might hesitate on
that account to risk the possibly higher rental for the certainty of
better housing conditions.
These questions, so far as they relate to new-law tenements,
have now been answered. All doubts have been removed. The
new-law tenement stands successful, alike from the point of view
of builder and tenant. The extent to which this practical solution
has proceeded is best appreciated when it is borne in mind that
during the year 1902 five hundred and forty-three new tenement
houses were built, at an estimated cost of over $20,000,000, and
during the first half of 1903 plans were filed for a still larger num-
ber, — six hundred and ninety-nine, — at an estimated cost of $20,-
837,270.
The new-law houses have been an unqualified success. Builders
and owners who w^ere at first bitterly opposed to the law are now
outspoken in its approval, and many of them state that the new
houses are more remunerative than the old ones. The demand for
the new accommodations on the part of the tenants has been over-
whelming. Not only have the apartments been rented in many cases
before the buildings have been completed, but in some instances the
apartments have been rented from the plans before the buildings
were even started. Such a thing has never before been known to
occur in the tenement districts.
On the lower East Side, where the new houses have been built
in greatest number, it is a Sunday diversion of the people to take
their families and friends to see them and to wonder at and admire
the light rooms, the bath-tubs, and the other improvements. The
rents in the new buildings are slightly higher than the rents in
houses recently erected under the old law in similar neighborhoods,
and rightly so because they give better accommodation. Moreover,
there is a general rise in rents throughout the city, which has no
relation to the new tenement law or to the new-law house ; it is
due to a. variety of causes, among which may be noted the general
[300]
Recent Progress in Tenement-House Reform 107
increase of prices and cost of living, and the displacement of large
numbers of the population by the destruction of many houses for
extensive public improvements. The approach for the Delancey
Street bridge on the lower East Side alone displaced ten thousand
people. It is, of course, obvious that until the supply of new-law
houses in certain neighborhoods equals the demand, rents will tend
to rise. It would be a sorrowful comment on the intelligence of
the working people if they were not willing to pay a little more for
vastly improved living accommodations.
A statement of the main features of the new-law tenements and
the difference between them and the types of houses permitted to
be erected prior to 1901 is not inappropriate here. In the new-law
houses every room is light, whereas in the previous " dumb-bell"
type ten rooms out of every fourteen were dark or gloomy. Every
room is well ventilated ; in the dumb-bell the only rooms that had
adequate ventilation were those which opened on the street or yard,
and ten out of fourteen rooms were inadequately ventilated. The
great improvement in ventilation was vividly impressed upon a
recent observer, who noticed with amazement all the window shades
blowing out of the front windows of a row of new-law houses, so
great was the circulation of air in the rooms. To any one familiar
with the heavy fetid air which prevailed in the old houses the con-
trast is striking.
The public halls are no longer dark, narrow, unventilated cor-
ridors, sixty feet long, but are compact, wide halls, with ample
light and ventilation, with a large window to the outer air at each
story.
In the new houses but 70 per cent, of the lot is occupied, instead
of 75 per cent, as in the past. The height of a new house is now
proportionate to the wddth of the street on which it is located, and
cannot be higher than one and a half times that width. In the past
there w^as no such limitation, and a tenement house might be built
even ten stories high on a street but thirty feet in width. In the new
houses the size of the yard is proportionate to the height of the build-
ing ; in the past the yard was the same size, no matter how high the
building. Now the yards must be thirteen feet deep where in the
past they were but ten, while on corner lots they must be ten feet
where before they need be but five. In place of air-shafts but twenty-
eight inches wide, inclosed on all four sides, and without any means
F^oil
io8 The Annals of the American Academy
of ventilation at the bottom, there are large courts not less than
twelve and one-half feet wide and twenty-five feet long, with a large
tunnel at the bottom, securing adequate ventilation and constant
renewal of the air. No window now opens within six and one-half
feet of a window opposite, and generally they are twelve and one-
half feet away, and often twenty-five feet, instead of being but
twenty-eight inches distant as in the past.
No room is now less than seventy square feet in area, and every
apartment must contain at least one room of one hundred and twenty
square feet in size. In the past many rooms were but sixty square
feet in area, and often the only means of reaching one of the bed-
rooms was by passing through another bedroom. This is no longer
permissible. Instead of water-closets located in the public halls and
used by two families, each family now has' its private water-closet,
entirely within the apartment and therefore within its own control.
Cellar walls and floors are now required to be protected against
dampness. Non-fireproof tenement houses can now be erected to
a height of only six stories, instead of eight as formerly ; fire-escapes
must now be really adequate ; instead of vertical ladders there must
be substantial stairs, and the balconies must be at least three feet
wide instead of two and one-half feet. No fire-escape may now
be located in a court, but must be on the front or rear of the build-
ing. Instead of public halls and stairs so narrow that two persons
could not easily pass each other, no public hall or stairs may be less
than three feet wide, and where there are an unusual number of fami-
lies in the building the stairs and halls must be increased in width
proportionately. There are other important changes effected in the
new houses, of greater or less degree of importance.
The following summarized statement will, however, indicate
the more important ones in a readily apprehended form:
A SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANGES EFFECTED
IN NEW TENEMENT HOUSES BY THE TENEMENT
HOUSE ACT
The new tenement prior to 1901. The neiv tenement after igoi.
1. Dark rooms — 10 out of 14. i. All rooms light.
2. Unventilated rooms — 10 out, of 2. All rooms well ventilated.
14.
3. Public halls dark and narrow. 3. Public halls light and ventilated.
[302]
Recent Progress in Teneinent-Hoiise Reform
T09
The nezv tenement prior to 1901.
4. 75 per cent, of lot occupied. 4.
5. No limit to height of buildings 5-
on narrow streets.
6. Yards of interior lots 10 feet 6.
deep.
7. Yards of corner lots 5 feet. 7.
8. Air-shafts 28 inches wide. 8.
9. Air-shafts with no means of ven- 9.
tilation at the bottom.
10. Air-shafts in the centre of build- 10.
ing 2y3 feet wide.
11. Windows of rooms opening 11.
within 28 inches of windows
in adjoining house.
Rooms with but 60 square feet 12.
of floor area.
No requirement for size of liv- 13.
ing rooms.
Access to other rooms and water- 14.
closets through bedrooms.
Water-closets used in common 15.
by two families located in pub-
lic halls.
Cellar rooms permitted with ceil- 16.
ings only two feet above
ground.
Cellar walls and floors not pro- 17.
tected against dampness.
Non-fireproof tenements 8 stories 18.
high permitted.
Fire-escapes with vertical lad- 19.
ders permitted.
20. Fire-escape balconies 30 inches 20.
wide permitted.
21. Fire-escapes located in air- 21.
shafts.
22. Iron gratings in shafts permitted 22.
without ladders or stairs.
23. Public halls narrow. 23.
[303]
12
13-
14
15-
16,
17^
19
The nezv tenement after iQOi.
70 per cent, of lot occupied.
Height limited to i^ times the
width of street.
Yards of interior lots (6 story
buildings) 13 feet, and i foot
more for each additional story.
Yards of corner lots 10 feet.
Large courts 12 feet wide.
Courts with an intake or tunnel
at the bottom renewing the air
constantly.
Inner courts in the centre of
building 24 feet wide.
No windows within 6^/2 feet of
another window and generally
I2j4 feet apart and often 25
feet.
No room less than 70 square feet.
One room of 120 square feet in
each apartment.
Sole access through bedrooms
prohibited.
A private water-closet for each
family entirely within its own
apartment.
Ceilings of cellar living rooms
to be 4V2 feet above ground.
Cellar walls and floors to be
damp-proof.
Non-fireproof tenements limited
to 6 stories.
Substantial stairs required for
fire-escapes.
Fire-escape balconies required
to be 3 feet wide.
Fire-escapes forbidden in shafts.
Iron gratings forbidden, and
stairs required.
No public halls less than 3 feet
wide, and to be increased with
an increased number of fami-
lies.
no The An>ials of the American Academy
The new tenement prior to 1901. The new tenement after igoi.
24. Stairs narrow. 24. No stairs less than 3 feet and to
be increased with an increased
number of famiUes.
25. Stairs so steep as to injure the 25. No stairs with a rise of more
health of women. than 8 inches.
26. Wooden stairs and non-fireproof 26. Stairs and halls to be completely
halls in five story buildings. fireproof.
27. Public halls not shut off from 27. Public halls shut off from non-
non-fireproof parts of the fireproof parts of building,
building.
28. Wooden tenement houses for six 28. No wooden tenement house to
families permitted outside of be occupied by more than four
fire limits. . families.
Of greater interest, however, though not of greater importance,
in the development of the new type of tenement house, is the actual
experience of the new Tenement-House Department in deaHng with
conditions as it found them and in the enforcement of the new law.
Enforcement of the law, as respected new buildings, was a com-
paratively simple matter, involving mainly the application of fixed
regulations to the new form which matter in the shape of iron, or
bricks, or timber was to take in a new building. Its application,
however, to existing conditions in old buildings, and to changing,
in many respects, fixed habits on the part of both landlords and
tenants involved the ever-varying human element, and presented
difficulties and perplexities at every turn.
The first thing that the new department did was to make a
careful examination of the old tenement houses in the city of New
York. To state this fact involves but a sentence. To make this
initial examination, however, occupied the force and energy of the
department during many long months. It was the first time that
any complete examination had ever been made. For the first time
tenement conditions in New York City were known. New York
has over eighty-three thousand tenement houses, which are occupied
by nearly three million people, representing every nationality and
every degree of social scale. These conditions, in many instances,
have been found to be so bad as to be indescribable in print; vile
privies and privy sinks; foul cellars full of rubbish, in many cases
of garbage and decomposing fecal matter ; dilapidated and danger-
ous stairs ; plumbing pipes containing large holes emitting sewer
[304]
Recent Progress in Tenement-House Reforni iii
gas throughout the houses ; rooms so dark that one cannot see the
people in them; cellars occupied as sleeping-places; dangerous
bakeries without proper protection in case of fire ; pigs, goats,
horses, and other animals kept in cellars ; dangerous old fire-traps
without fire-escapes; disease-breeding rags and junk stores in tene-
ment houses ; halls kept dark at night, endangering the lives and
safety of the occupants ; buildings without adequate water-supply, —
the list might be added to almost indefinitely.
A new branch of the city government had to be organized, its
machinery created, and a force of about four hundred employees
trained, disciplined, and educated. The results of department action
up to June 30, 1903, a period of eighteen months, are as follows :
Living accommodations for 16,768 families, or 83,840 persons,
have been provided in sanitary, comfortable, and decent houses, each
one of which has been built according to law ; notorious evasion of
and non-compliance with the laws has given place to their complete,
uniform, and impartial enforcement ; the evil of prostitution has been
practically abolished in the tenement houses ; 337,246 inspections
have been made; 55,055 violations filed; 21,584 repairs made to
plumbing; 13,617 water-closets cleaned; 11,611 accumulations of
filth removed from cellars and other parts of such buildings; 13,732
ceilings cleaned; 15,364 walls cleaned; 10,060 unsafe wooden floors
removed from fire-escapes and new iron floors substituted; 1701
fire-escapes erected on buildings that before were without this pro-
tection. The registration of 44,500 owners' names has been secured,
thus fixing the responsibility for bad conditions in the tenements ;
contagious disease has been checked and prevented, and 32,825 citi-
zens' complaints have been investigated and the conditions com-
plained of remedied.
The existing tenement houses have been frequently and system-
atically inspected; foul cellars have had the accumulated filth of
years removed ; defective and unsanitary plumbing which had appar-
ently existed for long periods has been remedied ; houses unfit for
human habitation have been vacated ; hundreds of houses have been
radically reconstructed and improved ; light has been let into dark
rooms ; vile yard privies and privy sinks have been removed, and
the whole sanitary condition of the city raised to a higher standard.
The effect of this work is clearly reflected in the reduced death rate,
which in 1902 was 18.70 in the thousand, as compared with 20 in
[305]
112 TJie Annals of the American Academy
1901, and in 1903 has been reduced to 18. 11. These percentages
in themselves give no adequate conception of the change. It should
be borne in mind that each change in the death-rate of one-thou-
sandth in a population, say of three million five hundred thousand,.
means a difference of three thousand five hundred lives, and that
each change in the decimal point of one-tehth of one-thousandth
means a difference of three hundred and fifty lives. It must not be
understood that the Tenement-House Department was the sole cause
of this change. It was only one of the several contributing causes,
but as it performs all the ordinary functions of a health department
for the housing conditions of over two-thirds of New York's popu-
lation, it is evident that its action was no inconsiderable factor in
the entire result.
The attitude of tenement dwellers to the new department and,
indeed, towards the city government is best illustrated by the charac-
ter of the complaints received. During the first eleven months in
which the department was deaHng with citizens' complaints (I use
these figures because I happen to have them accurately compiled
and at hand) it received, in the borough of Manhattan alone, twenty-
five thousand and eighteen citizens' complaints, and every one of
these complaints was investigated.
That so large a number of complaints should be received in so
short a period is a most encouraging indication of the fact that the
great mass of the tenement-house dwellers desire better conditions,
and that they only endure the conditions which they do endure be-
cause they are entirely helpless without the aid of the municipality.
The complaints represent almost every phase of tenement-house
life ; many are exceedingly amusing, others pathetic, and some are
even tragic. The spelling of many of these letters is unique, as is
the conception in many cases of the functions of the department.
One apparently refined elderly woman called at the department upon
one occasion, and, after having interviewed the complaint clerk, in-
sisted upon seeing the Commissioner. She was highly indignant
because she had reported that her apartment was overrun with fleas,
and he had informed her that there was nothing that the department
could do about it. It was impossible to make her understand that
the removal of fleas from her particular apartment was not a proper
municipal function. Other complaints asked the department to
secure for them steam heat and similar conveniences. The range
[306]
Recent Progress in Tenement-House Reform 113
of subjects covered by the complaints is practically unlimited. The
department has been asked to prevent boys from throwing stones
in the streets; its attention has been called to the presence of an
insane woman in a building; it has been asked to stop the janitor
from raising dust when he sweeps ; to prevent tenants from shaking
rugs out of windows; to stop noise in the neighborhood. It has
been advised that some of the tenants in the tenement house are
unclean and disorderly, and several complaints have alleged that
the clothes-line on which the women hang their clothes are always
full and there is no space.
It is very difficult to describe the conditions actually found by
tenement inspectors in any general language. However full and
complete such a description might be, couched in general terms it
would convey no adequate impression. My own most vivid im-
pressions have been obtained by a personal view. Next to this
personal view, an actual description by an inspector of the particular
things he has seen at a particular place is most graphic. As the
former method is impracticable to the readers of this paper, I employ
the second by including a few typical reports of inspectors, in pre-
cisely the form in which they were received by the Tenement De-
partment.
" In November, 1902, I visited a five-story brick building, situ-
ated on East One Hundred and Ninth Street, and inhabited exclu-
sively by poor Italians. On entering the building I w^as met at the
first story by a woman w'ho said she was the janitress of the place,
and who asked me in broken English whom I wished to see. I
explained to her the purpose of my visit and told her also that I
was an inspector from the Tenement-House Department.
" Before I finished my answer, I noticed a big crowd of men,
women, and children assembled around me and with great anxiety
trying to find out my position. But all my explanations and the
large conspicuous print on the hat band were too hard a subject
for them to understand ; so I tried to explain to them as much as
I could the purpose of my business in their own language and began
to insist upon inspecting the premises.
" As usual, I went down to the cellar, and while jumping from
the last step of the stairs on what I supposed to be the cellar floor,
I found mvself bathing in a cold stream. My feet began strongly
8 ' [307]
114 ^^''-^ -^^i^^ols of the American Academy
to protest against taking a bath in November, and I had to resort
to my torch in order to find my way back. When I threw the Ught
and noticed the baskets, wooden boxes, and other articles floating
on the surface the scene appeared hke the remains of a wrecked ship
floating on the surface of the sea.
" Notwithstanding this experience, I decided to find out the
cause of this flood. A few good Itahans offered me their services.
They immediately brought down chairs and stones, and began to
lay planks direct to the house drain, and there I found a large hole
3 by 6 inches ; so that all the waste from the building, instead of
being conveyed to the street sewer, remained in the cellar.
" I proceeded further with my inspection, and found that the
condition in the public halls and in the apartments were not much
better than those in the cellar. Every water-closet in the building
was either broken or obstructed ; every flushing apparatus was out
or order; some flush tanks had no water at all, and from some the
water was overflowing. The wooden wash-trays and the woodwork
around the sinks in the apartments were so foul, rotten, and satu-
rated from long usage that it was absolutely impossible for me to
remain more than three minutes, on account of the stench that
emitted therefrom.
" I reported violations against this building, and orders were
issued immediately to the owner to remove the evils. The owner,
on getting the orders, began to realize that the time had come when
he had to do something. When I came around in a few weeks, to
make a reinspection, it took me nearly five minutes to convince
myself that I was in the same building I had originally inspected,
and I only arrived at this conclusion by recognizing my Italian
friends who had helped me to lay the planks in the cellar.
" They greeted me with great joy when I began to inspect the
premises. I found that a new cast-iron drain had been provided,
new water-closets installed, new sinks and wash-tubs of non-ab-
sorbent material had been furnished, and the walls and ceilings of
the halls and apartments newly painted. In one apartment on the
top floor I found a company of Italians around a table celebrating
some feast. When they noticed me every one jumped to his feet
to express his thanks, and I was invited to have dinner with them.
I thanked them cordially for their hospitality and left the prem-
ises."
[308]
Recent Progress in Tcnemcnt-Hotisc Reform 115
" It was a ' bad house' — that was the general verdict of the
neighbors of a certain tenement house on Eighth Street. ' Inspector,
can't you do something to rid us of those disorderly persons?' That
was the appeal made to the inspector by the respectable people of the
vicinity. This, among other things, is what the inspector found:
On the fourth story there were nine small rooms, occupied mainly
by dissolute men and women. While obscene jests and curses filled
the air, two small girls, three and four years old, played on the hall
floor. What those innocent ears and inquiring eyes heard and saw
is horrible to contemplate.
" On the Sunday previous to the day of inspection a woman
had been stabbed by a drunken man, and about two weeks before
another woman had been slashed by an infuriated rival. Brawls
were frequent, and the place was a menace to the safety of the neigh-
borhood. Three cases of smallpox had occurred in the house within
a comparatively short time. The machinery of the Tenement-House
Department was set in motion, and the result was a quiet, orderly,
clean house, where formerly existed a den, where physical and moral
disease existed, to the danger of respectable and law-abiding people."
" The direction of the Department was directed to that tenement
house on Tenth Avenue, near Fifty-second Street, by the recent
existence of contagious disease. This tenement was extremely un-
sanitary and all urgent matters received the attention of the De-
partment; such as a wet and filthy cellar, a defective earthenware
house drain, and foul water-closets. Special importance attaches
to this inspection, as it revealed the ghastly fact that a butcher-shop,
located on the first story, had its refrigerator waste-pipe directly
connected with the house drain — not even a trap intervening to
intercept the entrance of sewer air into the refrigerator, and thereby
partially prevent the contamination of the meat kept therein. This
condition existed during six years prior to this inspection.
" During six long years meat contaminated by sewer air was
sold in the neighborhood. It is needless to say that the Department
immediately ordered the landlord to provide a properly trapped and
sewer-connected sink, into which the refrigerator waste pipe would
thereafter discharge, and to promptly abate the nuisance."
Marked as has been the progress of housing reform during
the past two years on the scientific lines of acquiring precise knowl-
[309I
ii6 The Annals of the American Academy
edge and applying definite remedies, it has been most marked in
the awakening and development of public interest in this subject.
Every one can recognize by his own experience the effect of his
home surroundings on his own individual and family life, not merely
on the utilitarian side of mere health, but on the social side of com-
fort and enjoyment, if such a differentiation is possible. Every one
who sees the disease-bearing and comfortless housing conditions
under which so many of the poorer classes live in our cities is
therefore in a position to measure the evils of these conditions, and
to foresee the menace of these evils not only to those who are forced
to bear them, but to their more fortunate but adjacent neighbors.
No one who knows the discomfort (to use the mildest term)
of these conditions can have it in his heart entirely to condemn the
men and women who seek refuge from them in the saloon or almost
anywhere that promises some light and room and cheer. Most
of all do those who know them honor and respect the great body
of our working classes, who, under such conditions, preserve their
sobriety and self-respect, and safeguard their family life.
It is out of such knowledge, beginning to be so general on the
part of the " well to do," that comes the present widespread desire
to better such housing conditions. It is one of the directions in
which altruism is expressing itself most forcibly. But it is not
necessary to appeal solely to altruistic motives for remedial action.
Self-preservation is a motive quite as cogent. The line of future
progress in housing reform is to direct this desire, so general, and
often so pathetic in its aimless expression, towards practical ends.
Robert W. de Forest,
Tenement-House Commissioner, Neiv York City, 1 902-1 904.
[310]
NEW YORK CITY'S SANITARY PROBLEMS, AND THEIR
SOLUTION
With certain minor exceptions, due to racial or other charac-
teristics, the unavoidable mortality of any particular city differs
but little from that of any other city of approximately the same size.
It is in the avoidable causes of death that they differ. At the time
the Department of Health was established, in 1866, it was estimated
that nearly one-third of the deaths in New York City for ten or
fifteen years previous had been from avoidable causes. That was
a fearful arraignment of the city authorities of that day, for there
is no better test of sanitary control in cities than the death-rate.
Vital statisticians agree that in communities where the death-rate
is lowest its fluctuation is least, or, in other words, that the evil
conditions which contribute to the increase of avoidable deaths from
time to time are not there present. It has been computed that the
ratio of inevitable mortality need not rise above 17 per thousand.
In the forty years since the New York Department of Health has
been in existence the rate has fallen, not uniformly, but steadily,
so that in 1901 it was 20 per thousand, in 1902 only 18.75 per thou-
sand, and in 1903 only 18.20 per thousand. This means that,
whereas in 1864 there were 25,000 deaths in a population of 900,000,
there are now only 70,000 deaths annually in a population exceeding
3,700,000. If New York to-day had the same death-rate that it
had forty years ago, the annual deaths would now be, not 70,000,
but more than 105,000. Sanitary progress in forty years has brought
us to the point of saving 35,000 lives annually.
It was the realization of what an excessive death-rate implied
that drove public-spirited physicians to demand from the legislature
of 1866 what previous legislatures had denied them, — the establish-
ment of a metropolitan board of health, with power to devise and
enforce sanitary regulations. The Citizens' Association had blazed
the way. It had found typhus and consumption in overcrowded
tenements ; infantile diarrhoeas and malarial and typhoid maladies
where streets were badly drained, neglected, and filthy with decay-
ing organic matter ; rheum, scrofula, and eruptive diseases where
the people had to sleep in unventilated bedrooms or in damp cellars.
[311]
ii8 The Annals of the American Academy
In the winter of 1865 smallpox had been epidemic in New York.
Thousands of cases occurred. One inspector visited five houses
in a single hour in which smallpox was prevailing within fifty feet
of the largest dry-goods commission houses on the continent.
Thirty-four houses within a district covered by six small blocks
were foci of constant infection. Typhus, notoriously a filth disease,
was endemic in tenements close to the fashionable residence section
of the city ; eighty cases of it came out of one house in a single
year. Instances might be multiplied to show how the city was at
the mercy of all sorts of pestilence. In 1866 came the cholera, with
abundant opportunity to spread all over the city; but in the midst
of the alarm at the fearful mortality which resulted came the estab-
lishment of that organization which was finally to bring New York
under efficient sanitary control. Since that year the record of
progress has been almost constant. The power of the central author-
ity over matters of public hygiene has steadily increased. Modera-
tion in the use of this power has been the chief cause of its growth.
The public does not delegate authority unless it feels confidence
in the wisdom of the body to which this authority is to be given.
As the result of forty years of a generally prudent use of its func-
tions, the New York Board of Health has now reached a point
where public opinion sustains its action even when the underlying
causes of this action are not fully understood.
Without attempting any detailed sketch of the progress of mu-
nicipal sanitation in New York, either during the period when the
Board of Health was still directly responsible to the legislature or,
later, when it finally came to its present position as a part of the
local government, it will be well to glance at some of the problems
which have been solved in New York. These questions, with per-
haps some local variations, are much the same the world over, so
that briefly to review them may serve to aid other and newer mu-
nicipalities to meet and solve their own problems better than if their
own experiences were to be their only guide.
The great sanitary problems in any city are those which for the
most part result from too great centralization of population without
adequate provision for the protection of health. They may be
broadly summarized as follows :
1. Faulty domestic sanitation.
2. Polluted water supplies.
[312]
Neiv York City's Sanitary Problems, and their Solution 119
3. Sale of impure milk and foods.
4. Overcrowding in tenements ;
5. Transmission of infectious disease in tenements and in the
public schools.
6. Encroachment of offensive trades upon residential centres.
I. It has become almost an axiom among those having sanitary
supervision of New York City that the average tenement house is
in better sanitary condition than the average private house. To
people whose imagination has been stirred by reports of the revolt-
ing condition of some neglected tenements, this may seem sur-
prising. The reasons for it, however, are plain. New^ York, in
common with a hundred other cities, has gone through 3-ears of
agitation for improved tenement conditions, and this agitation has
produced marked results ; but houses occupied by one and in a
few instances by two families are less likely to be the subjects of
complaint by the tenants, especially if, as is often the case, the tenant
is the owner. The private house is not inspected by the sanitary
authorities unless its condition is bad enough to arouse complaints
from neighbors or the general public. Many of these houses, espe-
cially in the lower parts of the city, are from thirty to sixty or seventy
years old, and the land on wdiich they stand has become so valuable
that they must soon be replaced by business buildings or tenements,
in order to bring in a revenue commensurate with the land value.
So they drag on from year to year with only the most superficial
repairs at vital points, while their occupants suffer from complaints
vaguely called " rheumatism" or " malaria," but really due in part
or entirely to bad plumbing and inadequate drainage, which mean
sew^er-gas poisoning and the bacterial infections having their origin
in damp cellars. New York is only just beginning to understand
the danger of that faulty construction in dwellings which exposes
the occupants to currents of cellar air. The recent epidemic of
pneumonia is traced by competent medical authority to bacteria
which thrive in cellars as much as to the ordinary well-understood
foci of infection.
Among the sources of disease induced by faulty domestic sani-
tation must also be reckoned all places of public assemblage, such
as theatres, halls, and churches. Sanitary inspection of theatres in
New York, whenever it. has been undertaken with honestv of pur-
[313]
I20 The Annals of the American Academy
pose, has disclosed serious defects in the condition of these build-
ings; so serious, in fact, as to justify a demand for immediate
repair or immediate closure. Unhappily, the sanitary authorities
have been only spasmodically vigorous in the pursuit of offenders.
The churches, too, oddly enough, frequently need correctional or-
ders to improve the sanitary condition of their premises. The very
fact that most of them are used on only one day in the week has
seemed to make those in charge of them especially lax with respect
to sanitary precautions. Factory inspection, while usually under
the immediate charge of State officers appointed for that purpose,
demands the strictest attention from boards of health, because few
if any of the factory inspectors have any adequate notion of the
principles of hygiene.
2. Progress in bacteriological research in the last decade has
impressed municipal sanitarians even more deeply with the necessity
of safeguarding municipal water-supplies from pollution. While the
use of cisterns and shallow wells within the built-up portions of
cities was long ago condemned and has been prohibited wherever
an adequate system of sanitary supervision is established, constant
vigilance on the part of sanitary authorities is necessary to preserve
city watersheds from contamination. New York has always been
proud of its Croton water-supply, but sometimes, it must be con-
fessed, without adequate reason. The Croton watershed has for
years been occupied by a farming population, and a large number
of towns and villages have grown up there. This has greatly in-
creased the danger of pollution. For a long period of years con-
demnation of property has gone forward, with a view to enlarging
the watershed and removing danger-spots, but independent means
of sewage disposal must still be provided for thousands of these
residents, and the condition of the main reservoirs with respect to
decaying organic matter is still far from satisfactory. Among the
most needed reforms, towards which progress is being made, are :
Removal of sources of contamination, such as offensive and danger-
ous outhouses, diversion of the sewage from factories, creameries,
etc., and a thorough medical supervision of the inhabitants of the
whole section, particularly with reference to the prevalence of typhoid
fever and other water-borne contagia. If precautions such as are
now taken on New York's watershed had been used at Ithaca and
[314]
Nezv York City's Sanitary Problems, and their Solution 121
at Butler, Pa., the recent disastrous typhoid epidemics there might
have been stayed, if not wholly averted.
3. Purity of milk and other food supplies is one of the most im-
portant factors in saving the lives and maintaining the health of peo-
ple in large cities. Not least of the foes of child life is the ignorant
or vicious producer of milk. To be reared in a crowded tenement,
with air and light restricted, and no playground but the public street,
is in itself a menace to a child's vitality. If to this handicap be
added that of impure or adulterated food, the child's chances for
life are small indeed. Forty years ago between 25 and 30 per cent,
of the total annual deaths were of children under one year; now,
in spite of the fact that a much larger portion of the population lives
in tenements, the proportion which the deaths of children under
one year bears to the total annual deaths has been much reduced.
So far as this change in the mortality rates among children is to
be ascribed to improvement in milk supplies, it must be remembered
that the sources of that supply are now quite different from what
they were when boards of health took them under observation.
Formerly most of the milk used in New York City came from farms
within or adjacent to the city limits. Cows were often kept in
dark and unventilated stables and fed on swill from neighboring
distilleries. Now most of the milk used in New York comes from
points distant from twenty to three hundred miles from the city.
The comparatively few cow-stables remaining within the city limits
are, with a few exceptions, in a most unsatisfactory condition, while
those in distant rural communities give evidence that their owners
appreciate the importance of cleanliness in production. Opportu-
nities for adulteration and pollution in handling are so great, how-
ever, that it has been found valuable in the interest of an improved
supply to send trained sanitary inspectors to dairies along the lines
of railway which bring milk to New York, in order to instruct the
farmers regarding the importance of avoiding bacterial contamina-
tion of milk. Though these inspectors have had full authority to
institute prosecutions, having been acting with the approval of the
State Board of Health, their method has been rather to point out to
the producer the advantage to be gained from the sale of pure milk,
which commands a higher price in the New York market. Inspi-
ration to the farmer is also found in a certificate granted to clean
farms bv the milk commission of the New York County Medical
[315]
122 The Annals of the American Academy
Society, and in the example set by the owners of certain model
plants, notably that of Walter W. Law, Esq., at Briarcliff Manor,
Westchester County, where especial attention has been given not
only to the production of clean milk, but to the rearing of a herd
of cattle as robust and healthy as the most careful breeding and treat-
ment can produce.
Much, also, may be done to impress upon the retailer the im-
portance of purity in the milk supply. Strenuous prosecution of
adulterators in recent years has driven many of the dishonest re-
tailers out of business, while the merely ignorant have been taught
that they must be careful to buy only from wholesalers of unblem-
ished reputation. Milk stores in all large cities are much too numer-
ous. Many of them in New York are merely one-room groceries ;
the proprietors sell milk less for the profit than to catch the trade
of customers in other food products. This class of milk retailers
has been much diminished in numbers in the last two years by rigid
enforcement of a sanitary ordinance prohibiting the sale of milk
in stores directly connected with living-rooms. Another ordinance,
hitherto also a dead letter, but lately enforced, requires that milk
offered for sale shall be kept at a temperature not exceeding 50° F.,
because in milk above this temperature the growth of bacteria is
very rapid.
One of the most important fields of sanitary supervision over
food products has to do with adulteration and substitution of goods.
The deceptions practised by manufacturers are too numerous to
mention. Attempts thus far made by boards of health to check
this evil have been sporadic and unmethodical ; but in almost any
line to which the chemist choses to turn he will find evidence of
fraud upon the consumer. This shows the extent of the opportunity
for corrective effort by sanitary authorities. Three flagrant in-
stances of this adulteration or substitution occurring during the
writer's incumbency as Commissioner of Health in New York City
may be cited as samples of a hundred others. We had occasion
to suspect the purity of a baking-powder manufactured in Tennes-
see, and sold in New York by a department store. We found that
it contained about 25 per cent, of ground rock. That was why the
retailer could quote an abnormally low price on it. All we could
find for sale and in warehouse now reposes at the bottom of the
Atlantic. In another instance we examined some three hundred
[316]
Neiv York City's Sanitary Problems, and their Solution 123
samples of what was purchased in local drug-stores as phcnacetine.
We found that a large part of this was acetanilid, a dangerous heart
depressant. At another time we tested an article sold by a sup-
posedly reputable department store as " powdered mixed borax,
for household use." It contained not a trace of borax, but only a
cheap and inefficient substitute. When we notified the vendors that
they were liable to prosecution for fraud they replied that they had
withdrawn the article from sale, but naively added a request to be
informed how much borax they would be required to put in each
package to come within the letter of the law !
4. Ever since the Metropolitan Board of Health was organized,
those in charge of it have looked with increasing dread upon the
rapid rise in density of population. The shape of Manhattan Island,
long and narrow, and the failure of local transportation managers
to provide adequate means whereby the working class could reach
their places of occupation from residences situated on cheaper land
to the northward, in Brooklyn, and in nearby New Jersey villages,
have forced a large part of the population to seek homes in the
lower part of the city. Add to this a constant influx of foreigners,
of which the least progressive part has remained to eke out a miser-
able existence in the city, and the result has been a concentration
of population in New York far greater than in any other of the
world's great cities. To supply this unparalleled housing demand,
owners of property have been for two generations building tene-
ments designed to contain as many persons as possible and to
" waste" as little space in providing for light and ventilation as a
feebly administered law would allow. Lots were often almost
entirely covered with buildings. Space behind, which should have
been left open, was covered with the so-called rear tenements, even
less lighted and ventilated than the ordinary ones. Thus, for years
on years, the greed of capital and the need of the poor have com-
bined to suck the life-blood of the city's population ; thousands on
thousands of tenants in these miserable habitations have died pre-
maturely and wretchedly because the law-making power w^as not
aroused to a sense of its duty towards the majority of the city's body
politic. True, some improvement had been made as a result of the
cholera epidemic of 1866, but after that year the growth of popu-
lation constantly vitiated reformatory measures, and it was not
until 1894 that any real remedial work was accomplished. Some
[317]
124 The Annals of the American Academy
of the worst rear tenements were then condemned and destroyed,
in spite of the vigorous opposition of their owners, and a new law
was framed which prevented any return to the old vicious condi-
tions. This law was further improved in 1901, and a Tenement-
House Department established. It has power to require owners
so to reconstruct their buildings as to let in more light and venti-
lation, and to prevent the construction of tenements upon more
than 70 per cent, of any lot. Stringent rules also prohibit the use
of any but approved forms of plumbing, the operation of the " school
sink" privies, and the construction of stairways with non-fireproof
material. The law is a model of its kind, and it has successfully
withstood the assaults of greedy landlords both in the courts and
in the legislature. The old style of "death-dealing" tenement
yielded 25 per cent, in revenue. Model tenements of later construc-
tion yield less, but are saving thousands of valuable lives.
Much has been done in New York in the last ten years to
increase the number of small parks and playgrounds in crowded
tenement sections. " Mulberry Bend" was the first to go, and the
demolition of its rickety houses let in light and air upon one of
the deadliest parts of the city. Several other parks and breathing
places have been similarly formed, and in every case the death-rate
of the regions thus benefited has shown a gratifying decrease.
After all, however, the real solution of New York's tenement prob-
lem is to come in the extension of rapid transit facilities. The sub-
ways building and projected will be the greatest factor in reducing
New York's death-rate in the next ten years and in increasing
the comfort of its inhabitants.
5. Inevitably accompanying the overcrowding of tenement
population has been a rapid transmission of infectious disease.
Forty years ago only epidemics, like cholera or smallpox, caused
great alarm ; the spread of the more common contagia seemed to
the inhabitants a matter of course. It might readily be shown, how-
ever, that far more lives have been wasted in any large city by
reason of the laxity of sanitary authorities in the presence of the
ordinary infections. Tuberculosis, finding most of its prey in sys-
tems reduced in vitality by tenement life, has for years been charge-
able with 10 to 15 per cent, of the annual deaths, scarlet fever
and diphtheria have annuallv slain their thousands of children, and
[318]
New York City's Sanitary Problems, and their Solution 125
yet municipal sanitarians have only just begun to realize that a large
proportion of these deaths were preventable.
New York has led other American and many European cities
in its war against tuberculosis. By successive steps its Department
of Health has gradually assumed an increasing measure of control
over tuberculous persons. Physicians are now required to report
all such cases occurring in their private practice, and the department
will, on request, assume direction of the patient's conduct, watch
the progress of the disease, and endeavor to prevent its communi-
cation to others. Specimens of sputum are examined free in its
laboratories, and patients unable to care for themselves are placed
in institutions where curative measures are possible. Existing pub-
lic or semipublic sanatoria are still inadequate to receive any great
proportion of such cases, but the groundwork for a municipal sana-
torium in the country is practically complete, awaiting only an
adequate appropriation by the new city administration.
Prevention of the contagious diseases common to children is
best secured by rigid medical inspection in the public and parochial
schools. Upon assuming ofifice under Mayor Low, the writer found
the medical inspection of schools so inefficiently performed as to
be almost useless. Begun in 1895 under good auspices, the system
had deteriorated until the political ward leaders had the power to
appoint or depose the medical inspector, regardless of efficiency and
solely for political reasons. Teachers were the only diagnosticians,
for, unless they " thought a child looked sick," the inspector never
saw him. Such a service demanded either abolition or complete
reorganization. The latter alternative was chosen. Medical in-
spectors were selected from the Civil Service Commission's list
solely on the ground of efficiency, and have been required to make
thorough examinations at frequent intervals of all New York's
school population, in addition to daily examinations of cases of sus-
pected infectious disease. The result has been a reduction of about
50 per cent, in the number of infectious cases among school chil-
dren. The system outlined above has been investigated by sanita-
rians in other cities, and adopted by a number of them, notably by
Philadelphia.
There is no adequate excuse for the prevalence of smallpox
anywhere in the United States. Epidemics of this disease are
proof positive of inefficiency on the part of the sanitary authori-
[319]
126 The Annals of the American Academy
ties of cities. Yet in the winter of 1901-02 smallpox was to be
found in many of the cities of the Central and Eastern States, and
in some of them it still persists. Our plan in New York was to
insist on general vaccination, public and private. We circularized
all manufacturing and business establishments, offering free vacci-
nation to their employees, and opened vaccination bureaus in various
parts of the city, meanwhile keeping the public press excited upon
the necessity of preventive measures. Nearly nine hundred thousand
persons received public vaccination in 1902, three times as many as
had been performed in any previous year, and the number of private
vaccinations must have been very large. Deaths from smallpox
in New York in 1902 numbered 309; in 1903 they numbered 4.
6. Between tenements and trade in large cities there is always
an irrepressible conflict. Property in neighborhoods no longer de-
sirable for private residence, and so destined for the homes of the
poor, is generally susceptible after a while to alteration for business
purposes. So it happens that the needs of manufacturing interests
are always crowding factories into the tenement sections. Not
infrequently some of these manufacturing plants are within the
classification of offensive trades ; often, too, the pressure for cheap
manufacture has turned part of a tenement into a sweat-shop, where
the workers sleep after their day's toil is done. With surroundings
so little uplifting, it is no wonder that the tenement population be-
comes hardened to . manufacturing nuisances, which a more inde-
pendent and discriminating class of people would not bear for a
moment. It has often been the experience of the New York Board
of Health that its efforts to suppress nuisances caused by offensive
trades in a thickly populated neighborhood would lack support from
the people chiefly to be benefited. They had grown up in these evil
surroundings and did not appreciate how much happier their lives
would be if the surroundings were improved.
Forty years ago slaughter-houses, fat-melting establishments,
and kindred nuisances flourished throughout the crowded wards
of the city, without the slightest attempt to render their operation
inoffensive. It took whole decades of steady effort to secure their
removal to sites along the North and East Rivers. To-day the city
charter prohibits the establishment of any such industry except on
a site adjoining the water-front, and the abattoir people are required
to use the latest appliances for suppressing offensive odors and
[320]
New York City's Sanitary Problems, and their Solution 127
conducting their business in a sanitary way. They need constant
watching, however ; improved machinery for their plants costs
money, and they will avoid using it even after its installation unless
the sanitary inspectors are unceasingly vigilant and absolutely incor-
ruptible.
The presence of a large Jewish population, wnth its demand
for Kosher-killed meat and chickens, necessitates the presence of
abattoirs and chicken slaughter-houses in or near the city. The
latter trade is the filthiest, and the men engaged in it need more
watching than any other. Slaughtering privileges are very valua-
ble, and the owners of them, nearly all Hebrews, are in a trust which
keeps up the price of chickens and robs co-religionists for its own
profit. In time all these places, as well as the abattoirs and stock-
yards, will have to be removed, at least from the built-up portion
of the city, if not beyond the limits of it. Unhappily, such sweeping
reforms are slow, especially when the vested interests attacked are
so ready to pay for " protection."
The power of the Board of Health to suppress smoke nuisances
has been very fully tested in the last two years, and the result
has been to confirm the constitutionality of the sanitary ordinance.
Public opinion is unquestionably behind it. New York is proud
of the cleanliness of its atmosphere, and citizens will support the
sanitary authorities in every effort to maintain it. There are fewer
violations of this ordinance now than ever before, and every one
of them, so far as known, is under surveillance of the Department
of Health. Evidence of widespread interest in New York's success-
ful fight against smoke is found in queries from all over the country
as to the wording of the ordinance and the steps taken to enforce
it. To these the reply must always be that the detailed language
of the law is immaterial ; all that is needed is an honestly w^orded
ordinance and determined effort behind it.
Ernst J. Ledf:rle,
Commissioner of Health, New York City, 1902-1904.
[321I
POLITICAL AND MUNICIPAL LEGISLATION IN 1903 ^
Following the general plan and order of previous reviews in
this series, the more important political and municipal legislation
of the year may be classified under the following heads : Constitu-
tions, Constitutional Amendments, State Boards and Commissions,
Governor, Veto Power, Direct Legislation, Over-Legislation and
Special Laws, Legislative Apportionment, Sessions, Legislative
Procedure, Direct Election of United States Senators, Suffrage
Qualifications, Woman Suffrage, Party Organization, Enrolment,
Party Test, Primaries, Direct Nominations, Registration, Voting
Machines, Municipal Codes, State Control of Cities and Home
Rule, State Supervision of Accounts, Municipal Utilities.
Constitutions. — Connecticut is to make another attempt to re-
vise its constitution which was adopted in 1818. Revision through
a constitutional contention having failed, the legislature has pro-
posed a revision in the form of an amendment.
Though the constitution of New Hampshire provides for the
submission of the question of calling a convention every seven years,
the State is still acting under the constitution adopted in 1792. This
constitution has been amended but three times. Constitutional con-
ventions have adopted the plan of submitting to the voters certain
specific amendments rather than an entire revision of the consti-
tution. This was the plan followed by the convention which met
in December, 1902. The convention proposed ten amendments, of
which four were adopted and six rejected at an election held in
March, 1903. The amendments adopted related to educational quali-
fications for voting, qualifications of militia officers, taxation, and
combinations in restraint of trade. The example of New Hampshire
in resisting the general trend towards voluminous and frequently
revised constitutions is noteworthy. Although since the original
constitution of 1792 four constitutional conventions have been held,
they have restricted their labor to the proposal of a few changes
and additions to the original constitution.
' This is the Niiitli Annual Review of Political and I\Iuiiici])al Legislation i)ul)lishc(i in The
Annals. The Review for 1902 appeared in Vol. XXI. ; for 1901 iti Vol. XX. ; for 1900 in Vol. XVII. i
for 1899 in Vol. XV. ; for 1898 in Vol. XIII. ; for 1897 in Vol. XI. ; for i8q6 in Vol. IX. ; and for 1895
in Vol. VII. The first four reviews were prepared by Dr. E. D. Durand ; the others by Dr.
Whittcn.— Eo.
[322]
Political and Municipal Legislation in 190^ 129
The governors of Rhode Island, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska,
and West Virginia recommend the holding of a constitutional con-
vention, and the legislatures of Idaho ('03, p. 456), Michigan ('03,
ch. 32), and Nebraska ('03, ch. 165) have submitted this question
to vote in November, 1904.
Constitutional Amendments. — Of the twenty-six amendments
submitted to the people in 1903, twelve were adopted. Eleven
amendments referred to legislatures of 1903 by preceding legisla-
tures were not repassed. Thirteen amendments were referred by
the legislatures of 1903 to succeeding legislatures and fifty-seven
amendments were submitted to the people to be voted on in 1904.
State Boards and Commissions. — Last year a slight tendency
to check the rapid increase in the number of State boards and offices
was noted, New York having consolidated a number of boards
in 1901 and Massachusetts even more in 1902. In 1903, however,
the trend towards multiplication has gone on with scarcely any
check. About one hundred new boards and offices were created in
the various States. The governors of many States deprecate this
trend in their messages. Governor Geer, of Oregon, congratulates
the State upon its freedom from a multiplicity of boards and offices.
He says, " Oregon has fewer offices than any other State. . . . The
four principal State officers control and direct all our public insti-
tutions, as well as the vast business connected with our State lands
and irreducible school fund, our enormous fishing industry, and
other interests." The Oregon legislature of 1903, however, failed
to realize the desirability of this condition, and led the other States
in the number of new boards created. It created a Board of In-
spectors of Child Labor ('03, p. 79), Board of Health ('03, p. 82),
Board of Portage Commissioners ('03, p. 108), Veterinary Medical
Board ('03, p. 154), Bureau of Labor Statistics and Inspector of
Workshops and Factories ('03, p. 205), and Board of Commissioners
for licensing sailors' boarding-houses and hotels ('03, p. 238).
Governor. — Tennessee will vote in November, 1904, on an
amendment to the constitution increasing the term of the governor
from two to four years ('03, p. 532). In Indiana the salary of the
governor has been increased 'from $5000 to $8000 ('03, p. yy), and
in Kansas from $3000 to $5000 ('03, p. 240).
Veto Pozver. — Ohio, one of the three States (Rhode Island,
Ohio, and North Carolina) in which the governor has heretofore
9 [323]
130 The Annals of the American Academy
had no veto, has adopted a constitutional amendment permitting
the governor to veto any bill, any section of a bill, or any item of
an appropriation bill ('02, p. 962). In Kansas an amendment will
be submitted to vote in November, 1904, authorizing the governor
to veto items of appropriation bills ('03, ch. 545). Governor Gar-
vin, of Rhode Island, following the lead of his predecessor. Gov-
ernor Kimball, recommends the granting of the veto to the governor,
but the legislature took no action.
Governor Gage, of California, calls attention to the constitu-
tional provision which restricts the time to ten days after the ad-
journment of the legislature for the approval or disapproval of the
numerous bills passed during the closing hours of the legislature.
Alany States give the governor thirty days in which to act on such
measures. In the absence of constitutional amendment remedying
the matter, the governor suggests that the legislature pass no bills
during the eight or nine days before final adjournment, and holds
that these last days could be profitably used in considering resolu-
tions and constitutional amendments, pursuing investigations, and
individually advising the governor regarding bills under considera-
tion by him.
Direct Legislation. — Oregon has adopted an act carrying out
the provisions of the constitutional amendment adopted in 1902 pro-
viding for the initiative and referendum ('03, p. 244). The form
of petition and the method of verification of signatures is prescribed.
The county clerk is to compare the signatures of the petitioners with
their signatures on the registration books and certify the result to
the Secretary of State. Signatures not certified as genuine by the
county clerk may be accepted on proof as to their genuineness. Any
person, committee, or organization filing a petition or opposing the
same may furnish the Secretary of State with pamphlets explain-
ing or giving arguments for or against the proposition. All such
pamphlets are to be bound with a copy of the proposed measure
and sent by the Secretary of State to local officers for distribu-
tion at the time of registration to all voters registering.
The initiative may be used to propose and pass constitutional
amendments as well as statutes. Under this system a constitutional
amendment may be adopted much more speedily than under the
other method provided in the constitution. A legislative resolution
for a constitutional amendment must be passed by two legislatures
[324]
Political and Municipal Legislation in Jpoj 131
and voted on by the people. This procedure with the system of
biennial sessions requires at least five years to secure an amend-
ment. Under the system of the initiative, a petition signed by 8 per
cent, of the voters may be presented four months previous to any
regular election, and its adoption at that election is final. It therefore
takes less than one-fifth as long to secure an amendment under the
new system. Massachusetts has referred to the next legislature an
amendment applying the initiative to constitutional amendments
('03, p. 583). It is much more cautious, however, in trusting to
the new device. The amendment must be proposed by fifty thou-
sand voters, approved by fifteen senators and a majority of the
representatives, and adopted by a majority vote of the people at one
election and by a two-thirds' vote at a succeeding election. Rejected
amendments may not be proposed again for three years, and the
amendment as proposed in the petition may be revised by the legis-
lature before being submitted.
Missouri has submitted to vote in November, 1904, a constitu-
tional amendment providing for the initiative and referendum ('03,
p. 280), and Nevada has referred to the next legislature a similar
proposal ('03, p. 231). The Nevada legislature this year substituted
for its peculiar proposal described in last year's review one providing
for the initiative and referendum similar in content to those adopted
in otlier States.
Over-Legislation and Special Laws. — The governors of Michi-
gan, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, and Utah dwell on the evils of over-legislation. During
the year October i, 1902, to October i, 1903, fourteen thousand three
himdred and ninety-four laws and resolutions were passed, and of
these but five thousand four hundred and six were general and per-
manent in character or of sufficient importance as special or tem-
porary enactments to be included in the Summary and Index of
Legislation. In comparing statistics of legislation, odd years must
be compared with odd and even with even years, as some States have
their biennial sessions in odd and some in even years, there being
almost three times as much legislation in odd as in even years.
During the biennial period 1902-03 nineteen thousand nine hundred
and eighty-four laws were passed, and this has been about the aver-
age for recent biennial periods.
North Carolina leads in the number of laws passed during
[325]
132 The Annals of the American Academy
1903 with twelve hundred and sixty-three enactments. The legis-
lature was in session sixty-three days, turning out an average
of twenty laws a day. Illinois, on the other hand, was in session
one hundred and twenty-one days and passed two hundred and
twenty-six laws, or an average of less than two per day. The differ-
ence is caused by restrictions upon special legislation contained in
the Illinois constitution. The result certainly shows a great gain
for the more adequate consideration of general laws. Legislators
in States in w^hich there is much special legislation complain that
their time is so taken up with the consideration of the numerous
special acts required by their constituents that they are utterly un-
able to give attention to important general measures.
Florida will vote in November, 1904, on a constitutional amend-
ment restricting special legislation ('03,' p. 643), and Tennessee on
an amendment permitting the legislature to enact local road, fence,
and stock laws ('03, p. 532). Governor Gage, of California, thinks
that restrictions on special legislation have developed an evil more
serious than that of special laws ; " while the evil that was intended
to be remedied . . . was a very serious one; still the new evil of
the enacting of general laws to fit special cases is more serious, and
it would be well for this constitutional section to be so amended
as to permit necessary exceptions, thereby doing away with this
injurious method of legislative evasion." There is doubtless great
justice in this criticism.. The codes and general laws of many States
in which special legislation is prohibited are continually amended
to provide for some particular case that should be provided for,
if at all, by special enactments. Constitutional restriction is cer-
tainly a poor substitute for the greater self-control in these matters
exercised generally by British legislatures. Governor Odell, of New
York, while deprecating the number of special acts, points out ways
in which the legislature may itself apply the remedy. He suggests
that the numerous local amendments to the game law can be obviated
by a general statute according to boards of supervisors, under the
control of the State Forest, Fish, and Game Commission, the right
to adopt regulations in conformity with the general statute for their
own particular localities. He also sent in a special message calling
attention to the numerous special bills passed each year for validating
the issue of bonds by localities and recommending that some local
[326]
Political and Municipal Legislation in ipoj 133
body be vested with power to legalize such bonds without burdening
the legislature with their consideration.
Legislative Apportionment. — Since the Federal census of 1900
twenty States have reapportioned representation in both houses of
the legislature and fifteen States in either the upper or lower branch.
Inequality of representation is still an unsettled problem in Con-
necticut and Rhode Island. Governor Garvin, of Rhode Island,
states that one-twelfth of the inhabitants of the State dwelling in
small towns possess more power in legislation than the remainmg
eleven-twelfths. Governor Chamberlain, of Connecticut, while main-
taining that each town should forever have one representative, holds
that the larger towns and cities should have representation in some
degree proportionate to population. Under the existing provision,
each town or city has not more than two nor less than one repre-
sentative.
Sessions. — Governor Hay ward, of South Carolina, advocates a
change from annual to biennial sessions. On the other hand. Gov-
ernor Terrell, of Georgia, testifies to the superiority of the annual
session. " Annual sessions of the legislature have made it easy to
enact new statutes as well as to amend or repeal old ones, so as to
supply omissions or correct defects disclosed by experience, and
in consequence we have a system just, simple, and in every way
suited to the genius and spirit of our people."
Georgia has changed the date of the opening of its annual
session from October to June ('02, p. 66), and California has sub-
mitted to vote in November, 1904, an amendment changing the
opening of the session from January to February ('03, p. 736).
Legislative Procedure. — In accordance with the suggestion of
Governor Bliss, Michigan has submitted to vote in November, 1904.
an amendment repealing the limitation on the introduction of new
bills to the first fifty days of the session. Governor Bliss states that
the only effect of the existing provision has been " to keep the legis-
lature practically idle for fifty days while bills are pouring into the
legislative hopper. The House and Senate journals are burdened
with hundreds of titles whose only purpose is to nullify the time
limit." Following Governor Durbin's suggestion, Indiana has passed
an act providing that bills shall be engrossed and enrolled from spe-
cially designed type selected by the State Board of Public Printing
and copyrighted for the exclusive use of the State ('03, ch. 125).
[327]
134 The An}ials of the American Academy
Direct Election of United States Senators. — During 1903 four-
teen States have applied to Congress to call a constitutional conven-
tion to consider the election of United States senators by direct vote.
Seven of these States had already made the same application in 1901.
Up to the present time twenty States have made application to Con-
gress for a constitutional convention; twelve in 1901, one in 1902,
and seven new States in 1903. The constitution of the United States
provides that on the application of two-thirds of the several States,
Congress shall call a convention for proposing amendments. Under
this provision the application of ten more States is necessary to
secure action by Congress.
An interesting legal point is raised by the fact that Florida
adopted a resolution applying to Congress for a convention, but later
at the same session rescinded its application. The question is
whether a State after once making application can afterwards re-
scind its action. It will be recalled that New Jersey and Ohio
revoked their ratification of the fourteenth amendment and New
York of the fifteenth amendment. The legality of this action was
not decided, as ratification by these States was not needed to make
the necessary three-fourths. Of course, in the case of an application
to Congress, Congress would necessarily be the judge as to whether
the application were in proper form, and only in case Congress
accepted the application could its legality be tested in the courts.
It seems certain that the effect of the proposed change in the
mode of selection would have marked effect upon the composition
of the Senate. One result would doubtless be to diminish the num-
ber of State party leaders and representatives of capital in that body.
Snffra(^e Qualifications. — New Hampshire adopted, by a vote
of twenty-eight thousand six hundred and one to eight thousand
two hundred and five, a constitutional amendment providing an
educational qualification for voting consisting of ability to read the
constitution in the English language and to write. This qualifica-
tion, however, does not apply to persons sixty years of age on Janu-
ary I, 1904, nor to any person who now has the right to vote.
Governor Hun, of Delaware, recommends the abolition of the
registration fee as a qualification for voting, saying that it has not
diminished but rather increased existing evils. In Texas, on the
other hand, where the poll tax must be paid many months previous
to the election, the results seem to have been in the main satisfactory,
[328]
Political and Municipal Legislation in ipoj 135
and Governor Sayers recommends legislation to make the amend-
ment more effective.
IV Oman Suffrage. — The New Hampshire constitutional amend-
ment providing for woman suffrage was defeated by a vote of
thirteen thousand and eighty-nine to twenty-one thousand seven
hundred and eighty-eight. Governor Toole, of Montana, recom-
mends the submission of the question in that State, and the legisla-
ture of Utah adopted a resolution declaring the success of woman
suffrage in Utah and urging its adoption in other States ('03, p.
206). The resolution recites that "equal suffrage has been in
operation since the advent of Statehood, during which time women
have exercised the privilege of voting generally and intelligently,
with the result that a higher standard of candidates has been elected
for office, elections have been made peaceful, orderly, and dignified,
the general character of legislation improved, intelligence in politi-
cal and civil and social matters much increased, and . . . the women
of Utah have not in any sense been deprived of any of their womanly
qualities."
Party Organisation. — The direct primary law to be submitted
to the voters of Wisconsin in November, 1904, contains some novel
and interesting changes in party organization. The State Central
Committee is to be elected by the candidates for the various State
offices and for the legislature nominated at the direct primary. It
is to consist of two members from each congressional district and
a chairman. The candidates above mentioned are also to meet at
the Capitol and formulate the State platform of the party.
The party precinct committee is to be elected at the primary
held for the nomination of candidates. This committee consists of
three members, and the one receiving the largest number of votes
is chairman. The party precinct chairmen of a city, county, or
assembly district make up the party committee of division ; the
chairmen of the assembly district committees form the State sena-
torial committee ; the chairmen of the senatorial district committees
form the congressional district committee. At meetings of the city,
county, and assembly district committees each precinct chairman
has one vote for every fifty votes or major fraction thereof cast by
his party.
The new act regulating caucuses in Providence, Newport, and
Pawtucket, R. I. ('02, ch. 1078), provides for the annual election
[329]
136 The Annals of the American Academy
of ward committees. The members of the several ward committees
constitute the City Committee. The general management of the
affairs of the party is vested in its City Committee subject to the
rules and regulations of the State Committee.
One of the great evils in party organization is its complexity.
None but the professional politician can keep track of the multi-
plicity of primaries and conventions required for the nomination
of national, State, and local officers. The game of politics consists
largely in taking advantage of this complexity. Deals are made
and the times of primaries and conventions fixed to defeat the plans
of rival factions and the wishes of the great majority of the mem-
bers of the party. Progress has been made in some States towards
fixing a primary day for all parties. A number of States having
official primaries hold the primaries of all parties at the same time
and place. As yet, however, there has been no legislative attempt
towards a uniform day for the meeting of the numerous kinds of
conventions — ward, city, township, county, legislative, judicial, con-
gressional, and State. Governor Yates, of Illinois, advocates this
much-needed reform. He asks why the ward and township pri-
maries of all parties should not be on a given Monday, the county
conventions on the next day, Tuesday, and the State conventions
on the next day, Wednesday. He says, " It would keep every poli-
tician at home and the colonizer and walking delegate would be out
of a job. It would leave every township and county and ward to
settle its own affairs, and so give home rule. It would remove from
every contest the hampering question of its effect on other contests
at other times, and it would compel every county to give up the
unprincipled idea of joining the winner at the last moment."
Enrolment. — The Massachusetts law of 1903 (ch. 454), pro-
viding for joint caucuses in Boston and in other cities and towns
adopting the act, provides an enrolment of party members. At
the first primary election held each elector is enrolled with the party
whose ticket he receives. An elector may afterwards change his
enrolment by making personal application, but such change shall
not take effect vmtil after the expiration of ninety days. The politi-
cal party enrolment of a voter does not preclude him from voting
the ticket of any municipal party at a primary.
Maine provides for enrolment in cities and towns of two thou-
sand to thirty-five thousand. An elector may enroll in any party by
[330]
Political and Municipal Legislation in ipo^ 137
filing an application with the clerk of the town. The elector may
change his enrolment at any time, but may not vote in any political
caucus within six months thereafter. Any elector not previously
enrolled may enroll up to the day of the caucus and during the
caucus by subscribing to an oath that he is a member of the political
party, intends to vote for its candidates in the ensuing election, and
has not taken part in the caucus of any other party within six
months. Any elector whose right to vote is challenged may be
allowed to vote on taking a similar oath.
Nebraska has revised its law relating to party enrolment ('03,
ch. 40). In all cities and towns in which there is registration for
regular State elections provision is made at the same time for party
enrolment. Each elector is asked with which political party he
desires to affiliate. A special enrolment is provided for persons
who are absent from the city or town at the time of registration
or who are prevented from appearing by reason of sickness. Such
person must make affidavit of the reasons for failure to register
and procure affidavits, sworn to before the city clerk, of two free-
holders of the precinct or ward setting forth the facts contained in
his affidavit ; and in all cases where illness is given as the cause for
failure to register the affidavit of some reputable physician is also
required.
New York adopted an amendment, applicable to New York
City only, prohibiting the transfer of electors from one locality to
another by certificates prior to primaries. Governor Odell states
that " This power of transferring has been abused in the city of
New York by alliances entered into by political leaders of opposite
political faith by having a sufficient number of their followers
register themselves as being affiliated with the opposite political
party for the purpose of influencing contests for party control or
for the nomination of candidates at primaries. Of course, this is
only done when the leader who desires to aid one of opposite po-
litical faith knows that he will have no contest for control in his
own district. If the period between the date of registering party
affiliation were six or eight months prior to the primaries it would
be a preventive in part against the misuse of such powers which
can only be used with impunity by a district leader when he is cer-
tain that there is to be no contest within his own political party."
Party Test. — Legislatures have been very cautious in prescribing
[331]
138 The Annals of the American Academy
a definite test of party membership. It is recognized, however, that
primary control cannot be made effective unless some definite test
is provided. The New Jersey primary law ('03, ch. 248, § 13)
requires the challenged elector to swear that he is a member of the
party, voted for a majority of its candidates at the last election,
and intends to support its candidates at the ensuing election. The
primary law for Providence, Newport, and Pawtucket (R. I. '02,
ch. 1078), while providing that the party committees may make
additional regulations, prescribes that no person shall take part in
the caucus of a political party who has taken part in the caucus
of any other party within fourteen months, has signed nomination
papers for any elective official, or has voted in any election for the
candidates of any other party or for candidates placed in nomination
by nomination papers. No person w^ho has voted in the caucus
of a political party may sign a nomination paper within fourteen
months thereafter. These regulations and the unlimited power of
the party committees to make additional regulations seem to be
devised in the interest of bossism rather than of the best party
organization.
The primary law of Idaho ('03, p. 360) makes it unlawful for
any person to vote at a party primary who was not affiliated with
the party at the last general election. Nebraska provides that no
person shall vote at a primary election unless he " shall have in the
immediate past affiliated with the political party holding such pri-
mary election and generally supported the candidates of such party
at the last election" ('03, ch. 40, § i).
Primaries. — The governors of Arizona, Michigan, Vermont,
and New Jersey advocate greater control over party primaries. The
governors of Vermont and Arizona recommend that the primaries
of all parties be held at the same place and on the same day. In
New Jersey a special commission on primary elections was appointed
in 1902. The legislature of 1903 enacted a general primary law
applying to all primaries for the nomination of candidates at the
general election for members of the General Assembly ('03, ch.
248). The primaries of all parties are held on the same day and
at the same place and are conducted by the boards of registry and
election, the primaries being held on the first registry day. Sepa-
rate official ballots are prepared for each party. Each elector must
ask for the party ticket he desires to vote. Massachusetts also has
[332]
Political and Municipal Legislation in ipo^ 139
provided for joint caucuses or primaries for all municipal or politi-
cal parties ('03, ch. 454). The act is mandatory in Boston, and the
question of its acceptance is to be submitted in the other cities and
towns using" official ballots.
Direct Nominations. — Progress towards the adoption of the di-
rect nomination system was made in Massachusetts, New Jersey,
and Wisconsin. Massachusetts cautiously extends its system of
direct nominations to the nominations of representatives in Congress
in the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Districts ('03, ch. 450). New
Jersey applies the new system to the selection of all candidates to
be voted on at the general election for members of assembly by the
voters of a single ward or township ('03, ch. 248).
The Wisconsin act is to be svibmitted to the voters in November,
1904 ('03, ch. 451). Its provisions are more thoroughgoing than
those of any similar law previously enacted. It applies to candi-
dates for all elective offices except the office of State superintend-
ent, to town, village, and school district offices, and to judicial
offices other than police justice and justices of the peace in cities.
Party candidates for United States senator are also nominated by
direct vote. Primaries of all parties are held on the same day at the
same place and in charge of the regular election officers. Official
tickets are provided, there being a separate ticket for each party
and also a non-partisan ticket upon which are printed the names of
persons for whom nomination papers have been filed and who are
not designated as candidates of any political party. These several
tickets are fastened together and handed to each elector. The
elector marks the ticket of his choice, detaches the same from the
remaining tickets, folds and votes it, and deposits the remaining
tickets in a separate ballot box.
The governors of Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Montana, and Ore-
gon recommend the adoption of direct nominations. Governor Van
Sant states that after a trial of the direct primary election law in
Minnesota, " the consensus of opinion seems to be that the law will
be a permanent method of nominating candidates for office." He
suggests, however, that it would be well to consider whether it will
not be wise to amend the law so that the different tickets will appear
on one ballot, and the voter will not be required to ask for the ticket
of the party with which he desires to vote.
Registration. — The new law regulating elections in St. Louis
[333I
140 The Annals of the American Academy
has some interesting provisions relating to registration ('03, p. 170).
Each apphcant for registration is required to sign his name on the
registration book or, if unable to do so, to make his mark. This
signature may be used as a means of identification when the voter
casts his ballot. No person may vote who is not registered, and
registration days are seven weeks prior to the election. Any per-
son, however, who is absent from the city at a distance of more
than fifty miles or confined to His home by illness or other disability
during the days fixed for registration may make personal application
and be added to the list on the Wednesday of the first week prior
to the election. The governor of New York recommends the adop-
tion of a provision requiring the voter to sign his name on the
day of registration as a means of identification on the day of elec-
tion. The governor of Colorado states that " In cities of the first
class there seems to be no limit to false registration and illegal and
fraudulent voting," and urges the adoption of a remedy.
Voting Machines. — Governor Murphy, of New Jersey, urges
the State to purchase voting machines for the counties. He esti-
mates that this will cost half a million dollars, but asks, " How can
the money of the State be so well used as in providing a means by
which the corruption of the ballot is made impossible." The legis-
lature made a beginning by authorizing the State Board of Voting-
Machine Commissioners to purchase machines with the consent of
the governor, to define their location and use ('03, ch. 171), and
appropriating $50,000 for this purpose. The governors of Indiana
and California recommend the use of the voting machine in order
to correct the evil of defective ballots and the resulting disfran-
chisement of a large number of voters. The legislature of Indiana
passed an act making obligatory the use of voting machines in coun-
ties containing a city of thirty-six thousand ('03, ch. 154). Cali-
fornia and Illinois adopted acts ('03, ch. 226) regulating the use
of voting machines and creating a voting-machine commission
(Cal. '03, ch. 226; 111. '03, p. 178). Massachusetts revised its law
relating to voting machines and created a Board of Voting-Machine
Examiners.
Municipal Codes. — Kansas adopted a general law for the gov-
ernment of cities of the first class ('03, ch. 122). All cities of over
fifteen thousand are cities of the first class. Women are permitted
to vote at all municipal elections. Elections are held in odd years,
[334]
Political and Municipal Legislation in ipoj 141
and in cities of less than fifty thousand a mayor, city attorney, city
clerk, city treasurer, police judge, and one councilman from each
ward is elected for two years. In cities of over fifty thousand the
mayor appoints a city counsellor and a police judge, the other officers
being elected. The mayor also appoints such other officers as may
be created by ordinance, and may remove the same at pleasure.
The mayor may veto any ordinance or any item of an appropriation
ordinance, and a three-fourths vote is required to pass an ordinance
over his veto. The mayor may, with the consent of the council,
appoint a city engineer, street commissioner, city assessor, fire mar-
shall, chief of police, policemen, and such other officers as the mayor
and council may deem necessary.
New Jersey adopted a general law for the government of cities,
which is to be in force, however, only in such cities as adopt it by
vote of the electors ('03, ch. 168). At the first general election for
the election of municipal officers there shall be elected for two years
a mayor, recorder, city treasurer, collector of taxes, overseer of
the poor, and one member of the city council from each ward, and
also three councilmen-at-large. The mayor's veto may be overridden
by a two-thirds vote. The mayor is the head of the police depart-
ment, and has exclusive power to appoint and remove all policemen,
including the chief of police and subordinate officers. The council
may establish, regulate, and control the fire department and regulate
the appointment and removal of its officers and members.
Virginia adopted a law to harmonize existing statutes with the
provisions of the constitution of 1902, which prescribed in con-
siderable detail the organization of cities and towns ('03, ch. 269).
State Control of Cities and Home Ride. — Florida will vote in
November, 1904, on a constitutional amendment permitting the
legislature to divide municipalities into four classes and provide a
uniform government for each class ('03, p. 643).
Ohio rejected in November, 1903, an amendment dividing cities
into three classes ('02, p. 117). It will be recalled that the munici-
pal code adopted at the special session in Ohio in October, 1902,
provided a uniform government for all cities, municipalities being
divided into two classes, all under five thousand being villages, all
over five thousand cities.
An amendment is to be voted on in November, 1904, in Illinois,
permitting the legislature to pass special laws for the reorganization
[335I
142 The Annals of the American Academy
of the municipal government of Chicago, such laws to be subject
to approval by the electors of the city ('03, p. 358). The present
constitution of Illinois practically forbids all special city legisla-
tion.
The Oregon legislature repassed a constitutional amendment
proposed by the legislature of 1901 providing for general laws for
the incorporation of cities and permitting cities to frame their own
charters in conformity with general laws without submission to the
legislature ('03, p. 346), but no provision has yet been made for
the submission of this amendment to the people.
Minnesota has revised its law regulating the framing, adoption,
and amendment of charters under the supervision of a board of free-
holders ('03, ch. 238). The district court may appoint a charter
commission of fifteen freeholders on its own motion or on petition
of 10 per cent, of the electors. The charter commission is a per-
manent board, the members holding office for terms of four years.
The board must submit a draft of a charter within six months. A
four-sevenths vote of the electors is required for the adoption of
the charter, except in certain cities where a three-fourths vote is
necessary. The charter thus adopted may be amended by a proposal
made by the charter board and accepted by the electors or on peti-
tion of 5 per cent, of the electors filed with the charter board, the
board shall submit amendments to a vote of the people. A three-
fifths vote is required for adoption of amendments. The charter
adopted must be in harmony and subject to the laws of the State
and must provide for a mayor or chief magistrate and for a legis-
lative body consisting of either one or two houses. Subject to these
limitations and to certain limitations as to public utilities and in-
debtedness, the charter and its amendments " may provide for any
form and scheme of municipal government and may embrace pro-
visions for the regulation, management, administration, and con-
trol of all departments of the city government and of all municipal
governmental functions."
Washington has provided for direct amendments to self-framed
charters ('03, ch. 186). On petition of 15 per cent, of the electors
a specified charter amendment shall be submitted to the people, and,
if approved by a majority vote, the amendment becomes a part of
the charter. This act does not deprive city councils of the right
heretofore granted of submitting proposed charter amendments.
[336]
Political and Miniicipal Legislation in ipu^ 143
Governor Gage, of California, thinks that constitutional guar-
antees of municipal home rule have gone too far in that State. Con-
stitutional amendments have been adopted which permit munici-
palities to adopt charters that are submitted to the legislature for
approval or rejection as a whole, and are not subject to future
amendment by it. The governor says, " While moderate decentrali-
zation is essential to municipal liberty, immoderate decentralization
leads to disintegration. ... I regard this excessive growth of mu-
nicipal power as a peaceful mode of secession from the State and
an unconscious blow against the State's integrity and indirectly an
unpatriotic assault on national existence."
State Supervision of Accounts. — Florida authorizes the gov-
ernor to appoint a state auditor, whose duty it shall be to examine
the accounts of the State and county officers ('03, ch. 14). He is
required to make such examinations at least once a year and to
make a report to the governor and to file a copy of the same so far
as it relates to county officers with the boards of county commis-
sioners. The State auditor receives two thousand dollars and travel-
ling expenses, and may employ an accountant at a salary of one
thousand dollars. It is made the duty of county treasurers, sheriffs,
and clerks to keep accounts according to forms prescribed by the
State auditor ('03, ch. 71).
Nevada requires counties, cities, and towns to make annual
reports to the State Comptroller according to forms prescribed by
the State Board of Revenue ('03, ch. 78; '03, ch. 123). The State
Board of Revenue may employ an examiner to inspect the accounts
of county, city, and town officers.
New York requires mayors and the chief fiscal officers of cities
of the second and third classes to make annual financial reports to
the Secretary of State according to forms prescribed by him ('03,
ch. 347). This act is as yet inoperative, as no appropriation has
been made to carry it into effect.
Governor Bates, of Massachusetts, says that good results have
been derived from the existing system of State supervision of county
accounts, and recommends that a system of uniform municipal ac-
counting be provided for. Governor Bliss, of Michigan, recom-
mends that he be empowered to appoint one of his office force a
State examiner of accounts to make an examination of county ac-
counts whenever conditions may require. Governor Richards, of
[337]
144 ^'^^ Annals of the American Academy
Wyoming, strongly commends the system of State supervision of
county and municipal accounts in that State.
Municipal Utilities. — In Kansas cities of the second and third
class are granted power to construct and operate light and gas
plants, electric-light plants, electric-power or heating plants, water-
works, natural gas wells and petroleum wells ('03, ch. 136). Fran-
chises are limited to twenty years. In Kansas, also, the general
law relating to cities of the first class ('03, ch. 122) regulates in de-
tail the granting of franchises, and the purchase, construction, and
operation of municipal utilities. Franchises are limited to thirty
years, and the mayor and council may at all times during the exist-
ence of the franchise fix reasonable rates of public service.
A California law ('03, ch. 86) permits cities under three thou-
sand to acquire, own, and operate " street railways, telephone and
telegraph lines, gas and other works for light and heat, public
libraries, museums, gymnasiums, parks, and baths."
The new Virginia constitution regulates the granting of fran-
chises, providing, among other things, for the sale of franchises at
public auction for a term of not more than thirty years. The legis-
lature has enacted laws carrying out these provisions ('03, ch. 138;
'03, ch. 269).
Governor Garvin, of Connecticut, recommends that all grants
of franchises be approved by a vote of the people. Arizona and
Montana passed laws requiring this. Wisconsin provides that
franchises shall not be operative until sixty days from date of
passage of ordinance, and if during such period 20 per cent, of the
electors petition for a referendum on the ordinance, the ordinance
is not operative until submitted and approved by a majority vote
('03, ch. 387). This seems a much more sensible provision than
those of the States above mentioned, which made the submission
of the franchise to popular vote mandatory. Unless there is a
popular demand for the submission of a franchise, the vote of the
council should be final.
Maine authorizes cities and towns to establish permanent fuel
yards and to sell fuel at cost to inhabitants ('03, ch. 122). Missouri
authorizes cities under thirty thousand to erect or acquire plants for
furnishing public utilities of any kind ('03, p. 95).
Governor Bates, of Massachusetts, opposes the theory that it
is better to exact no payment for municipal franchises, but to re-
[338]
Political and Municipal Legislation in ipoj 145
quire in place thereof that the money thus saved the corporation
be used in furnishing better facihties to the pubHc. He contends
that the result of the application of this theory has been to " cause,
either directly or indirectly, the capitalization of the value of the
franchise in the interests of the stockholder and to the loss of the
public." Governor Savage, of Nebraska, takes the ground that
exclusive franchises should never be granted, and that public service
corporations should not be required to obtain a franchise in order
to use public streets for a public purpose. He maintains that there
should be free competition in the supply of public utilities and that
the consolidation of competing interests should be prohibited.
Robert H. Whitten.
JVew York State Library, Albany, N. Y,
[339]
COMMUNICATIONS
THE LEAGUE OF WISCONSIN MUNICIPALITIES
In 1898 the State of Wisconsin celebrated the semi-centennial anniversary
of its admission to the Union. One of the features of this celebration was
the meeting of various associations, and of public officials at the State
Capitol. One of these was a conference of city officers. The large repre-
sentation at this meeting, and the interest aroused in the discussion suggested
the value and benefit to be derived from the organization of a State League
of City Officers. A committee was appointed to draft a constitution, and to
take the proper steps for the perfection of the organization.
The objects set forth in the prospectus were to promote the cooperation
of the officials of the cities and villages of the State in all matters pertaining
to municipal administration. In order to attain this purpose annual con-
ferences were to be held, and a Central Bureau of Information was to be
organized and a systematic study of legislation, which would be beneficial
to the cities of the State, was to be made. The objects of the League are,
thus, in brief, to promote the interests of the cities in all matters pertaining
to legislation, and to the solution of specific problems of administration.
The efforts of the Association have been largely devoted to strengthen-
ing the organization along various lines in order that its influences might
be felt. The first step was to secure such legislation as would enable the
cities of the State to possess a uniform organization. In Wisconsin special
legislation has gained such a foothold, and cities have become so individual-
ized in organization, that it will require extraordinary efforts to get them
upon a uniform basis. While upon the Statutes there exists a uniform Charter
Law, its adoption is not compulsory, the necessity for adopting it is removed
by the presence of a clause which permits the cities to adopt any portion of
it pertaining to a given subject. This has been so generally done that the
opinion seems to prevail that the general charter should be so amended as
to make it a desirable instrument for all the. cities instead of attempting to
replace it by enacting a new charter.
The first specific step in amending the charter was to secure a uniform
law making the terms of the mayors two years. At present the efforts of
the League are directed towards securing legislation for a system of uniform
accounting and auditing. This has already been strongly recommended by
the State Tax Commission, and has found favor among men of influence.
The desire for information, on the part of city officials, led to the establish-
ment of two media for the dissemination of such information as might be
desired by city officials. The first was the establishment of an organ, — The
Municipality, — published monthly and devoted, in the main, to the discussion
of current municipal problems. This publication is now in its fifth year, and
has gained a place in the local field.
[340]
League of JVisconsin Municipalities 147
The second medium was the establishment of travelling Municipal Li-
braries. Upon the suggestion of the League this was done by the Wisconsin
Free Library Commission, on lines similar to the travelling libraries so gen-
erally maintained throughout the State. It was found that the Public Library
could not purchase the books that were useful for the consideration of specific
municipal questions. For instance, an agitation in a given city for the owner-
ship of some public utility demanded a literature more comprehensive than
is generally found in the local library. The League has four (4) travelling
libraries, passing from city to city. The libraries are composed of about fifty
(50) volumes, covering those questions which are likely to arise in the smaller
cities. The call for these libraries has been more gratifying than its pro-
moters had reason to hope for. The library is left in a city about two weeks
unless there are special conditions which would make it desirable for it to be
assigned for a longer period.
In regard to the Annual Conferences, it has been the policy of the League
to bring before the city officers men whose training entitled them to speak
with authority upon those questions of general and technical interest. The
result has been to stimulate the city officers to inquire more carefully into
such questions and to rely more upon the advice of men of special training.
Probably the greatest benefit which can be directly traced to the work of the
League is the development of an active interest on the part of the city officials
in the work for which they have been selected. The Conferences draw to-
gether the more progressive city officials who are desirous of familiarizing
themselves with their work. The League has been in existence only a few
years, but during this time has developed such strength as to make it a posi-
tive factor in legislation, and in civic improvement in general. It is making
reformers of city officials without so classifying them.
Samuel E. Sparling.
University of IVisconsin.
MUNICIPAL PROBLEMS IN MICHIGAN
Though the League of Michigan Municipalities was organized nearly five
years ago, and has held five meetings in as many cities, its work thus far has
attracted comparatively little attention in the State. But this year the League
has departed from precedents and allied itself with the Michigan Political
Science Association in the hope of getting the municipal problems of Michi-
gan cities fairly before the public. Dr. John A. Fairlie, of the University of
Michigan, is secretary of both organizations. He arranged for a joint con-
ference, which was held at Ann Arbor in February, and which marks a new
era in organized effort in Michigan to improve municipal conditions.
Michigan is, in many respects, a peculiar State. At the last census it
had twenty-six cities with a population of more than 8,000 each, together
comprising a little over 30 per cent, of the population of the State. Michigan
is far enough west to indulge in the luxury of small cities. The total number
of those incorporated within this State is 80, ranging in population from 513
to 285,708. Of these, 37 are incorporated under general laws governing
[341]
148 The Annals of the American Academy
cities of the fourth class. All the rest have special charters. The legislature
of Michigan, evidently thinking it would be easier to begin with smaller cities
in an attempt to enact general legislation, established the fourth class with-
out having any first, second, or third.
The constitution of Michigan was adopted in 1850 when Detroit had
only 21,000 population. There has never been any prohibition of special
legislation for cities in Michigan. The power of the legislature over the
municipality has been practically unlimited, except by certain rights of local
self-government which the State courts have made clear. In fact, the legal
doctrine of local self-government has been carried farther in Michigan than
in most other States. Judge Cooley as a member of the Supreme Court held,
in a series of famous cases, that the right of local self-government existed
prior to the constitution of 1850 and lay back of it as one of the conditions
by which that document was to be interpreted. Practically, this secured to
every city the right to choose its own local officers and levy its own taxes
for local purposes. This did not, however, preclude the legislature from
imposing burdens upon the cities for such semi-State functions as education,
police, and health, so that after all the legislature has not been tied down
very closely in dealing with the municipalities.
Michigan is a rather conservative State. The farmers are strong in the
legislature, and while they are disposed to pass any special acts which a city's
representatives agree upon, they are not disposed to grant such a measure
of home rule as to deprive themselves of the ultimate control of the cities.
Another element in the legislature opposed to municipal autonomy is the
representatives from the Upper Peninsula, where the control of the rail-
roads and the mining corporations is particularly strong. These are the
gentlemen " with only one constituent." They are naturally opposed to
giving cities full power to control public utilities.
Under these conditions municipal afifairs in Michigan have drifted along
in a conservative way with only occasional interruptions such as Mr. Pin-
gree's upheaving influence in Detroit. We have an antiquated constitution,
an endless mess of local charter legislation, and no modern charters at all.
Municipal and county accounts are kept in an indifferent manner, with no
uniformity and little real publicity. Grand Rapids, the second city of the
State, has a water problem that is a standing invitation to promoters' and
boodlers. This and the Detroit street railway problem are about the only
municipal matters that have become of interest to the State at large.
It is hoped that the conference at Ann Arbor will open the way for a
united effort on the part of the cities of Michigan and the students of mu-
nicipal problems to carry through some programme of legislation calculated
to bring order out of chaos, and better protect the interests of the citizens of
Michigan cities than they can be protected under the old-fashioned patch-
work legislation. It is impossible to outline a programme at this time, for
none has been agreed upon. Yet it is safe to say that the most important
propositions to be discussed will be municipal home rule, uniform accounting,
and the merit system.
As " home rule" is a rather indefinite term, it may be well to analyze it
[342]
Municipal Problems in Michigan 149
with reference to the Michigan situation. There are four principal phases
of complete local self-government. They are :
First, the local choice of local officers, which is already pretty well
guaranteed in Michigan ;
Second, the right of cities to frame their own charters, which is unknown
in Michigan;
Third, the right of cities to determine the scope of their municipal func-
tions, which is seriously limited by the constitution of the State, and,
aside from that, wholly within the jurisdiction of the legislature;
and
Fourth, the right of cities to raise revenue and borrow money for the
purpose of carrying out their municipal projects, which also is en-
tirely within legislative control subject to the constitutional require-
ment that ad valorem taxes shall be levied according to a uniform
rule.
Of course, the League of Michigan Municipalities does not confine itself
to legislative problems. It is designed to be for its members a clearing-
house of information and an organized centre of municipal fellowship.
Delos F. Wilcox,
Secretary of the Civic Club of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
[343]
PERSONAL NOTES
Charity Organization Society of New York City — Dr. Christian Carl Car-
stens has been appointed assistant secretary to the Charity Organization So-
ciety of New York City.
Dr. Carstens was born in Bredstedt, Schleswig, Germany, April 2, 1865,
educated in the public schools of that city and Milwaukee, Wis., and Daven-
port, Iowa. His college education was received at Iowa College, with the
degree of A.B. in 1891. Subsequent university work followed at the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, with the degree of A.M. in 1900 and Ph.D. in 1903.
Dr. Carstens was superintendent of schools, at Ames, Iowa, 1891-95, prin-
cipal of High School, Creston, Iowa, 1895-96, principal of High School, Mar-
shalltown, Iowa, 1S96-99, and 1900-03 was assistant secretary of the Phila-
delphia Society for Organizing Charity, where he worked out and operated
an accurate method for keeping personal records of those members of the
delinquent classes with which the Charity Organization Society came in
contact.
Dr. Carstens is a member of the American Historical Association.
FOREIGN.
Trinity University, Ontario — James McGregor Young, M.A., has been
appointed special lecturer in Constitutional History in Trinity University,
Toronto. Mr. Young was born June 6, 1864, at Hilbir, Ontario, educated at
Picton High School and under private tutors, received the B.A. from the
University of Toronto, as a result of four years' work, in 1884; the M.A.
followed in 1903. He entered the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1884, was
called to the bar in August, 1887, and has since practised continuously in
Toronto. He was appointed lecturer in commercial law and common law to
the Law Society in the Law School of Ontario in 1893. Upon the promotion
of Hon. David Mills to the Canadian ministry, he was appointed professor of
constitutional law and international law in September, 1900, and in September,
1902, he became lecturer in constitutional history.
Professor Young's publications have been limited to short articles on gen-
eral and international law in local periodicals.
University of Toronto — Mr. Augustus Henry Frazer Lefroy, who was
appointed professor of Roman law, jurisprudence, and the history of the
English law in the University of Toronto in 1901, was born in Toronto,
Ontario, June 21, 1852. He spent four and a half years at Rugby (Warwick-
shire), entered New College, Oxford University, receiving the B.A. in 1875
and the M.A. in 1880.
In 1877 Mr. Lefroy was called to the bar of the Inner Temple of London,
in 1878 to the bar of Upper Canada at Toronto and subsequently admitted as
solicitor, and since that time has practised at Toronto and has been one of the
staff of the law reporters for the High Court of Justice for Ontario.
[344]
Personal Notes 151
Mr. Lefroy's published works are as follows :
" Law of Legislative Power in Canada." Pp. 825. Toronto, 1897-98.
Article on " Dominion of Canada." " American and English Encyclo-
pedia of Law," 2d ed., vol. x.
Articles on the " Australian Commonwealth Bill." Lazv Quarterly Review,
vol. XV., 1899.
Practical Sociology in England — Mr. P>enjamin Seebohm Rowntree, of
York, England, has recently made an exhaustive study of poverty, for which
his position as a large employer of labor gives him exceptional opportunity.
Mr. Rowntree was born in York in 1871, educated in the local Friends'
School, attended Owens College (Victoria University, Manchester), where he
studied chemistry, history, and social science, but took no degree, entering
directly into the great firm of Rowntree, one of the leading cocoa manufac-
turers of the world.
With the concern that the pinching poverty of the British workingman
might be better understood and dealt with, Mr. Rowntree made a thorough-
going inquiry into the conditions of life among the laboring classes of his na-
tive city. The result of these studies was published in "Poverty : A Study of
Town Life," ^ pp. 437, Macmillan, 1901. Considering that York is a typical
"provincial city" of England, with a population of less than 100,000, Mr.
Rowntree found the rather startling result, that 30 per cent, of the people were
actually underfed. The book brought forth considerable discussion, necessi-
tating a reply, " The Poverty Line," pp. 30, published by Henry Good & Sons,
London, 1902, and " The People on the Margin," an essay contributed to
Labor and Protection, published by T. Fisher Unwin, of London.
Mr. Rowntree is a member of the Royal Statistical Society of England,
the Royal Economic Society of England, the Sociological Society, and the
American Academy of Political and Social Science.
■University of Toronto.— Dr. Samuel Morley Wickett, lecturer in statistics
and economics, has prepared for the Canadian Government a " Physical and
Industrial Geography of Canada," to appear shortly.
Dr. Wickett was born in Brooklin, near Toronto, Ontario, October 17,
1872. He received his early education in the local schools and in the Toronto
Grammar School, and his college education at the University of Toronto,
receiving the degree of B.A. in 1894. This was followed by post-graduate
work in Vienna, 1894-95, in Leipzig, 1895-97, receiving the degree of Ph.D.
from the last named institution in 1897. In 1897-98 he was Mackenzie Fellow
in Political Science in the University of Toronto, became instructor in eco-
nomics there in 1898, and was advanced to lecturer in statistics and economics
in 1901.
Dr. Wickett's publications have been as follows :
"Das Oesterreische Tabakmonopol." Stuttgart, 1897. Reprinted in
Schanz' Archiv, 1898.
^ See The Annals, vol. xix. p. 471, May, 1902.
[345]
152 The Annals of the American Academy
" Statistical Organization in Canada." Appendix to Bureau of Industries
Report, Toronto, 1899.
" Industrial Evolution." Translation of Biicher's " Enstehung der Volks-
wirtschaft," 3d ed. Henry Holt & Co., 1902.
Editor University of Toronto Municipal Series, contributing " City Gov-
ernment in Canada," " The Municipal Government of Toronto," " Bibliog-
raphy of Canadian Municipal Government."
Report to Canadian Manufacturers' Association on " Trade Conditions
and Prospects of the Yukon Territory." Industrial Canada, October, 1902.
Report to Canadian Government on " Population and Trade in the Dis-
puted Alaskan Territory." Canadian Case to Alaskan Tribunal, London, 1903.
" The University and the Business World." University of Toronto Me-
morial Volume. (In press.)
[346]
BOOK DEPARTMENT
NOTES
Dr. Baldwin's Biography of Joseph Galloway, The Loyalist
Politician/ is another proof that the Tories are beginning to receive fair
treatment from American writers. The value of this biography lies not
merely in the judicial attitude which the writer maintains towards his sub-
ject. The history of pre-Revolutionary Pennsylvania is perhaps more com-
plex than that of any other colony. Struggles between the Proprietor and
the Assembly, between the advocates of proprietary and royal government,
and between the Susquehanna and the Delaware counties over the question
of representation and suffrage follow each other in rapid succession. The
author presents these issues in bold relief, for Galloway came into close con-
tact with all of them as one of the most prominent lawyers and writers, and
as a member and Speaker of the Assembly.
The evolution of Galloway's conservatism and loyalism is perhaps the
most interesting part of the biography. Both interest and sentiment caused
him to shun the growth of republican ideas and mob rule incident to the
Revolution, and to search after methods, such as federation with England,
to obviate the struggle which took the control of aflfairs from the men of
property and influence.
In presenting these issues, the author has succeeded well in subordi-
nating the discussion of the times to the biography of the Loyalist Politician.
The style is far above the average dissertation and the pamphlet is interest-
ing from the beginning to the end. Naturally some errors have crept in.
It is obviously incorrect to state that a letter written by Galloway to Mc-
Kean, in 1793, was written to Governor McKean (p. 91, foot-note, and p. 97),
for McKean did not become Governor of Pennsylvania until 1799."
Mr. Balfour's pamphlet, " Economic Notes on Insular Free Trade," ' is
a brief and well-written criticism on the present commercial policy of the
United Kingdom. The purpose of the paper is to show (i) that foreign
protective tariflfs have inflicted an almost irreparable injury upon Great
Britain, and (2) that the only policy which can prove effective against the
evil operation of such tariffs in the future is a policy of retaliation. Protec-
1 Joseph Galloway, The Loyalist Politician. By Ernest H. Baldwin, Ph.D. Reprinted from
the " Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography." Pp. 113. Price, $1.00. New Haven,
Conn. : E. P. Judd & Co.
- Contributed by George D. Luetscher.
3 By Arthur James Balfour, M. P. Pp.32. Price, 30 cents. New York : Longmans, Green &
Co., 1903.
[347]
154 The Annals of the American Academy
tion, according to Mr. Balfour, injures free-trade countries, (i) by restrict-
ing the foreign market ; (2) by causing the " loss of some of the capital and
skill by which these markets were formerly supplied;" (3) by "diverting
industry into presumably less profitable channels," the free-trade country
being forced to so "modify its industries as to pierce the barriers of foreign
tariffs;" and (4) by giving the protected manufacturer a command over his
home market, thereby enabling him to run his works more evenly and with
the greatest possible economy, and to sell his goods in foreign markets at
prices often considerably lower than the domestic price. Excluding the
exports of coal and machinery, which Mr. Balfour classes by themselves as
especially fostering the competition of foreign manufactures, he finds that
Great Britain's export trade has not progressed as rapidly as that of her
competitors, — in fact, has shown an absolute decline as compared with the
increase in population. This decline is not explained by the progress which
foreign countries have made in technical skill, etc., but is attributed solely
to the "operation of hostile tariffs." Nor does Mr. Balfour see a ray of
hope for the future. England is a " free-trade nation in a world of pro-
tectionists," which has already suffered great injury, and which may expect
an augmentation of existing tariffs in the future as well as a contraction
of the existing neutral markets.
Mr. Cox, in his " Reply to Mr. Balfour's Pamphlet," admits that Great
Britain has suffered great injury through the operation of foreign pro-
tective tariffs, but contends that Mr. Balfour's policy of retaliation, while
it is certain to involve the country in grave losses, can only offer benefits
which are at best problematical. Briefly stated, the losses which Mr. Cox
asserts would result from a policy of retaliation are as follows: (i) Every
tax imposed upon imported goods means an injury to the consumers of
those goods; (2) a retaliatory tariff, if it falls upon raw material required
by any British industry, will diminish that industry's power to compete in
foreign markets; (3) such a tariff would result in the creation of vested
interests, — privileges to extract higher prices from the consuming public, —
which, when once established, will prove difficult to remove; and (4) that
the adoption of such privileges will " mean the death-knell of the purity of
Parliament."
A POPULAR ACCOUNT of the state of the development of transportation
by electricity in the United Kingdom * has been written by Arthur H. Beavan.
The volume contains a fair amount of information regarding London's present
and prospective system of transportation. There is one chapter on " Pro-
vincial Tramways," three chapters on horseless vehicles, and one on the
possibilities of applying electricity to navigation. These and all other parts
of the book have been well-nigh spoiled by the author's attempt to make his
pages interesting. If the irrelevant matter had been omitted and the facts
< Tube, Train, Tram, and Car, or Up-to-Date Locomotion. By Arthur H. Beavan. With
many Illustrations and an Introduction by Llewellyn Preece, M.I.E.E. Pp. xviii, 291. Price,
I2.50 net. George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., ^London ; E. P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1903.
[348]
Notes 155
had been presented in a straightforward, concise manner the volume would
have been much more readable.
The so-called " second edition" of Bohm-Bawerk's " Positive Theory
of Capital," ° is merely a reprint of the first edition, published in 1888. As
the author explains in his brief preface to this reprint, his appointment in
1900 to the office of Austrian minister of finance prevented his accomplishing
any more literary work than the revision of the first volume of his book on
" Capital and Interest." This first volume, of which the second edition was
reviewed in The Annals some months ago, contained the author's presenta-
tion and critique of the various theories of capital and interest, while the
second volume is devoted to a systematic exposition of his own views. Both
volumes have taken unquestioned rank as remarkable contributions to the
literature of economics ; and as the first edition has long ago been exhausted
there was every reason for issuing more copies of the book, even though only
the first volume had meanwhile been revised. The author's own theory,
however, has constituted the centre-point of so much controversy that it is
to be hoped that he may soon be able to issue a new edition in which he will
take up, in particular, those features of his own theory which have provoked
most discussion.
"After Prison — What?"* details the experiences of Mrs. Maud Bal-
lington Booth in her work among prisoners, whom she calls " my boys."
Mrs. Booth tells her story in an attractive way. She is interested in reform-
ing the prisoner, not the prison, yet is by no means ignorant of the necessity
for prison reform, as her chapter on that topic shows. Mrs. Booth seems a
little too anxious to disclaim scientific knowledge of criminology. A little
more of this knowledge would have probably kept out the sentence, " We are
constantly impressed with one fact which cannot be denied, that the cause
of drunkenness has proved directly or indirectly the ruin of between 80
and 90 per cent, of all those in prison." The author seems also very
anxious to show that she has passed beyond the Salvation Army stage of
social activity, but the accounts of relief work done by her raise the question
whether in that particular she has yet reached the standard set by the charity
organization societies. The real worth of the book lies in the illustration it
gives of the value of personal service, and in the ringing indictment of society
for its attitude towards the ex-convict. For these things the book ought to
be widely read, and no one can read it unmoved. In Mrs. Booth the cause
of the prisoners has a strong advocate, and her plea for justice is convincing
even if we doubt whether or not an answer has been found to the question
raised by the title.
5 Capital und Capitalzins. Zweite Auflage, Zweite Abtheilung : Positive Theorie des Capi-
tales. Pp. xxii, 468. Price, 12m. Innsbruck : Verlag der VVagner'schen Universitats-Buchhand-
lung.
<5 Pp. 290. Price, $1.25. New York : F. H. Revell Co.
[349]
156 77/(7 Annals of the American Academy
During the past year The Annals has received six volumes of what
promises to be an interesting and carefully written series of small French
books on Social Economics. The volumes thus far issued,' which are to be
followed by at least a score of others, bear the following titles : " Contem-
porary Small-Scale Industry," " Population," " Beggars and Vagabonds,"
" Strikes," " Pools and Trusts," " Cooperation." The majority, if not all,
of the writers of the series appear to belong to what in France is known
as the school of Catholic social reformers. They are opposed to revolutionary
socialism, with its atheistic tendencies. They are also opposed to the more
or less materialistic philosophy of so-called scientific socialism, inasmuch
as they emphasize the power and importance of moral and religious forces
making for the betterment of social conditions. They are, on the other
hand, radically opposed to h}'per-optimistic " liberalism" and the policy of
hisses faire, inasmuch as they favor governmental intervention wherever
and whenever the moral and material progress of the nation seems to
require it.
The problem of economic evolution and the truth of the socialistic theory
of the disappearance of the middle classes depends in the last analysis on the
question of small-scale industries. Can the small-scale producer compete
with large-scale concerns? Is the small producer being driven out or ab-
sorbed by the large producer — the joint-stock company, corporation, or
trust? These are some of the questions which Professor Brants endeavors
to answer in his volume on Contemporary Small-Scale Industry. He is
equally interested, however, in the practical problem : How can we encourage
and maintain small-scale industries? In other words, what line of conduct
should be adopted by those who, in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and
Switzerland, have made the defence and development of the class of small
artisans an essential part of their social reform programme?
Professor Brants first examines, in the light of statistics, the theory that
small-scale production is inevitably making way for large-scale methods
typified by trusts and industrial combinations. Particularly the German
statistics on this point are carefully analyzed and found to indicate that
while the scope and importance of large industrial plants is increasing, this
increase is not at the cost of small plants, but due to increased production.
Small plants in some branches are disappearing; but in other branches they
are increasing. Only very small plants, consisting of one or two producers,
are doomed to extinction. The grave problem concerning the method by
which the small producer can obtain the requisite capital, machinery and
motive power, at a cost permitting successful competition with large con-
cerns, is discussed with a soundness of judgment and a wealth of statistical
detail which should commend these parts of the book.
The second volume of the series, on " Population," is of little scientific
' La petite Industrie conteniporaine, by Victor Brants ; 2e Edition : Paris (Victor Lecoffre) .
Pp. viii,230. /,<2 /'o^tt/a//oM, by Alfred des Cilleuls. Pp. vii, 207. Mendiants et VagabondSyhy
Louis RiviSre. Pp. xx, 239. Z.^5 (7r^z'<?J, by L6on de Seilhac. Pp. vii, 258. Cartells et Trusts,
by Et. Martin St. Lfon. Pp. viii, 248. La Cooperation, by P. Hubert-Valleroux. Pp. 228
(Dated 1904.) Price, 2 francs per volume.
[350]
Notes 157
value; the author adopts a controversial attitude which is perhaps justified
by the acuteness of the population problem in France, where family life is
rapidly being disorganized and where regular permanent concubinage enjoys
undisguised social sanction.
M. Riviere's " Beggars and Vagabonds" contains an interesting sketch
of the history of mendicancy and vagabondage, a survey of the present
French, English, Dutch, German, and Belgian laws concerning these classes
of dependents, and a discussion of preventive and repressive measures against
them.
In his volume on " Strikes," M. de Seilhac has succeeded in condensing
a large amount of suggestive material, from French sources, on this subject.
He has given, in addition to a brief history of strikes, including a discussion
of their cost, causes, and results and of the laws concerning them, a description
of several typical French strikes. Particularly interesting to American readers
is the chapter on the attitude of French socialists.
In his book on " Pools and Trusts," M. Saint-Leon presents a " syn
thetic study of industrial combinations, a general description of these com-
binations, and an inventory of theories and data due not only to the personal
observation of the author, but to investigations carried on by others in other
countries, according to different methods."
He deduces the following conclusions :
" It is impossible to pass a uniform judgment on pools and trusts. Two
propositions, however, sum up the lessons of experience regarding these
industrial combinations."
"(i) Industrial concentration in itself undoubtedly permits the scien-
tific and rational organization of production. It diminishes the cost of pro-
duction of merchandise and manufactured goods, secures a better adjust-
ment of supply to demand, and reduces to a minimum the waste of time,
money, and energy."
"(2) When, on the other hand, industrial concentration leads practi-
cally to monopolistic production, it is contrary to the interests of society.
The monopolists, having no competition to withstand, but obliged to pay
profits on excessive capitalization, are inevitably led to abuse their power
and to plunder consumers by increasing the selling price of goods. However
large it may be, an industrial concern cannot be called a trust if it volun-
tarily submits to competition and does not adopt the policy of combination
in order to secure monopolistic privileges."
" Trusts, in brief, tend to create a regime of industrial tyranny which,
while it enriches the few beyond all reasonable limits, is harmful to the
interests of the community at large. The province of government is to
watch carefully the methods employed by these great concerns, to subject
them to a system of publicity which shall inform the public of their real
economic status, and to put an end to the scandalous custom of watering
stock. The government should, moreover, whenever the necessity arises,
curtail their powder to fix prices at an abnormally high level, by reducing the
tariff on trust-made goods. These measures would, in our opinion, be prefer-
able to laws prohibiting trusts; for such laws would (as has thus far been the
[351]
158 The Aujials of the American Academy
case) either fail to accomplish their purpose, or would overshoot the mark by
attacking independent large concerns which are in no wise responsible for
the misdeeds of the trusts."
M. Hubert-Valleroux's " Cooperation" contains a brief historical sketch
of the early French and English cooperative movement and an account of
the present status of productive, distributive, and agricultural cooperative
associations, — especially in England, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Bel-
gium. His attitude is on the whole very sympathetic, although he pre-
sents a characteristic and probably justifiable arraignment of the French
socialistic cooperative societies for production. Although the book pretends
to be a complete survey of contemporary cooperation there is no discussion
of American cooperation, which recently has grown into a powerful move-
ment embracing several thousand genuine cooperative concerns.*
" The New Era in the Philippines," by Arthur J. Brown, D.D.," is a
pleasantly written account of the author's impressions concerning the Philip-
pine Islands, presenting, as it does, an optimistic view of the present situa-
tion and of the future development of our Asiatic possessions. The author
evidently believes that the American enterprise in the Philippines will result
in national glory, commercial gain, and the welfare of the natives. He recog-
nizes, however, that the commercial returns will not be as large nor as
quick as is expected by many, especially as he considers a heavy military
expenditure necessary. The author appreciates the difficulties which con-
front the insular government, not only on account of the backwardness of
the country and the aloofness of the people, but also on account of the very
inferior character of many of the Americans who have gone to the islands,
and who are " plainly and shamelessly dissolute, the scum which is ever cast
up by the advancing waves of civilization." The author considers the labor
question the fundamental problem of the Philippine Islands ; the natives
he describes as " not inherently degraded or vicious, but naturally intelligent
and kindly, yet lacking in energy ;" he therefore favors the introduction of
Chinese, not only for the purpose of supplying the much-needed labor, but
also for " toning up the racial fibre" of the Filipinos. Over one-half of the
book is given up to the discussion of the Roman Catholic Church and of
Protestant missionary activities in the Philippines. According to the author,
the Protestant missions are very successful in gaining the attention and
adherence of Filipinos of all classes."
" The Cooperative Wholesale Societies, Limited, Annual for
3," " is a book which reveals how rapid and continuous has been the
' Contributed by Professor C. W. A. Veditz, Bates College.
" Pp. 314. Price, $1.25. New York : The F. H. Revell Co., 1903.
'" Contributed by Professor Paul S. Reinsch, University of Wisconsin.
" Pp. vii, 4S0. Manchester and Glasgow. 1903.
[352]
Notes 159
progress of the cooperative societies of the United Kingdom during the last
four decades. During this period they increased constantly in membership,
capital, and volume of business, the sales amounting to almost $400,000,000
in 1900 and aggregating over five and a half billions of dollars between 1862
and 1900. The membership of the societies reached a total of 1,886,252 in
the latter year.
The Annual for 1903 will be of value to all interested in the cooperative
movement. The volume contains, besides almost 500 pages of text, numerous
diagrams and about a hundred photographs of stores, warehouses, depots,
factories, steamships, plantations, etc., belonging to and operated by the
cooperative societies. Several articles upon economic subjects, more or less
unrelated to cooperation, are incorporated into the book.
" Tolstoy and his Message" " is a study of a prophet by his ardent dis-
ciple. It is an apology, an appreciation, just saved from being a panegyric
by occasional criticism of minor details in the philosophy and moral code of
which it gives an exposition. The author's object is to interpret Tolstoy to
men who have not heard or who have failed to understand his message. To
this end the author gives briefly an account of the life experience which made
of the rich young noble a social reformer, an apostle of primitive Christianity
and of poverty. For Tolstoy's philosophy of life, outlined in the two central
chapters of Mr. Crosby's book, is in the last analysis that of Peter Waldo and
of St. Francis : literal observance of the commands of Christ. His moral
code can be summed up in the observance of brotherly love. In a capitalistic
age, and a society founded upon militarism, he preaches work and poverty and
the doctrine of non-resistance.
The reader could wish that Mr. Crosby had devoted more space to the
statement of Tolstoy's message, and less to commentary upon it. Apparently,
the doctrine of non-resistance gave the author of " Swords and Ploughshares"
an opportunity he could not forego. Accordingly, he has filled fourteen of
his ninety-three pages with instances of non-resistance triumphant. The
space might better have been given to Tolstoy's views of property, and to his
life based on his code.^^
Mr. Hepworth Dixon's " History of William Penn : Founder of Penn-
sylvania," " is an excellent little book. It is, in fact, unusually well done,
and in a style worth remarking. The work is practically a new undertaking,
although it purports to be based upon " William Penn, an Historical Biog-
raphy," which came out twenty-one years ago and which in its time com-
manded attention. The book forms a chapter in the history of the time of
1- By Ernest Howard Crosby. Pp. 93. Price, 50 cents. New York : Funk & Wagnalls
Co., 1903.
'3 Contributed by Miss E. S. Davison, Ph.D.
1* Pp. 337. Price, $1.00. New York : New Amsterdam Book Co., 1903.
[353]
i6o The Annals of the American Academy
Penn, who serves as the central figure. The general tone of the narrative is
a defence of the great founder against the charges of Macaulay.
" The Proceedings of the German Colonial Congress of 1902" " have
been published in convenient form. The Congress continued its excellent work
of uniting and strengthening the sentiment favorable to colonial development
throughout the empire in 1902-03. The subjects discussed included, Geog-
raphy, Ethnology, and Natural Science; Tropical Medicine and Hygiene;
Local and Political Relations of the Colonies and Dependencies; Religious
Relations of the Dependencies; Economic Conditions; German Migration
and Immigration into German Colonies ; Foreign Policy of Germany, with
reference to her colonies.
" Labor Conflicts and Their Solution" " is an interesting attempt to
define the extent to which collective bargaining may be carried between em-
ployers and laborers. M. Guyot, in common with other observers, has been
much impressed by the emphasis which the trade unions have come to place
upon their purely militant activity. He regards the undue prominence of this
somewhat pugnacious side of trade unionism as one of the principal obstacles
to a peaceful solution of the wage question. He appeals to all except the pro-
fessional agitator to organize the labor union upon commercial lines, as a
business undertaking, for the purpose of bargaining rather than fighting.
M. Guyot's pertinent question is, why should not the union control labor,
and bargain to supply so much labor at a price to be mutually agreed upon
with the employers or the employers' unions. He cites the numerous in-
stances of successful bargaining on this wholesale plan both in England and
the United States, giving special prominence to the agreement of the United
Mine Workers of America with the operators in the bituminous field. The
author does not complain of the strength of labor unions, nor does he insist
that they shall occupy the position of mere beneficial associations for acci-
dent or insurance pensions, nor would he countenance any attempt to sup-
press unionism, but he does point out very forcibly their present inability or
unwillingness to supply labor to those who are anxious to secure it. The
union should remedy this weakness and should be a money-making association.
" The History of Socialism in the United States," " by Morris
Hillquit, is a timely and much-needed work. Not since Professor R.T. Ely
wrote " The Labor Movement in America," some seventeen years ago, has
'■'' Verhandlungen ties Deutschen Kolonialkongresses, 1902, zu Berlin am 10 uiul 11 Okiolier,
1902. Pp. xvi, 856. Berlin : Dietrich Reimer, 1903.
"^ LesConflitsdu Travail et leur Solution. Ktiides de Pliysiologie Sociale. Par Vves Guyot,
Pp. xxii, 396. Price, 3.50 francs. Paris: Eujjfine Fasquelle, 1903.
" Pp- 37'- Price, $1.50. New York : Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1903.
[354]
Notes i6i
any one in this country attempted a comprehensive treatment of the subject.
Mr. Hillquit had an open field, and the result is very satisfactory. In one
small volume it is naturally impossible to enter into the details of the develop-
ment of socialism in the last one hundred years, but the salient features of all
the important movements are given. Beginning with the early communistic
societies, divided into the sectarian {e.g., the Shakers), the Owenite period
(New Harmony), the Fourist period (Brook Farm), and the Icarian com-
munities, the author passes to the development of modern socialism. The
early agitation carried on largely by German immigrants failed, but this gave
way to a local growth based upon the changed economic conditions. Thus
the labor organizations, at first hostile to socialism, have been invaded and
in great measure captured by avowed socialists. Mr. Hillquit is an active
socialist. He believes that socialism is rapidly growing and is destined to
play a far more important role politically in the near future than it now does.
The book is clearly written. The subject-matter can be found else-
where, but the author has summarized it all and brought it down to date in
a very satisfactory way, and the recent development is well treated.
Apparently the author is accurate in his statements, such defects as exist
being chiefly verbal. Iowa is scarcely to be considered as " a vast desert"
at the time the Icarians left Nauvoo. Nor is it quite fair to say of the Oneida
Community that " within the limits of the community all men were con-
sidered the husbands of all women, and cohabited with each other promis-
cuously." As the book appeared after the dissolution of the famous com-
munity at Harmony, Pa., it is to be regretted that this fact was not in some
way indicated. The platforms of the Socialist and the Socialist Labor parties
are given in the appendix.
" The Organization and Control of Industrial Corporations," " by
Frand Edward Horack, is one of the few doctors' dissertations which rise
to the dignity and value of a treatise. The monograph embodies in a well-
organized form the results of an exhaustive study of the statutes for the
regulation of industrial corporations.
The author begins with a study of the nature of the corporation, and
the source and development of corporation law. He discards the " Entity"'
theory, and holds to the more modern conception, that a corporation is an
association of individuals empowered to do certain things through agents,
and strictly limited both as to objects and territory.
In the main portion of his work, he discusses the subject of control
under two general heads. First, the control of organization ; and second,
publicity, including the control, publicity, and purposes of organization, the
duration of charters, the powers and duties of directors, and the control of
capitalization. The laws of the different States which bear on these topics
are carefully classified and digested, for easy reference. Special attention is
1* Presented to the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Pennsylvania in 1902 in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the degree'of Doctor of Philosophy. Pp. 207. Philadelphia:
The Equity Series, C. F. Taylor.
^^ [355]
i62 The Annals of the American Academy
naturally paid to the provisions for publicity, and a feature of particular in-
terest is a discussion of the corporation laws of England, France, and Ger-
many. Dr. Horack also shows, in a chapter, whose only defect is its brevity,
how the laws of the States which regulate the organization and management
of corporations are defeated by the foreign corporation which operates In
one State under the laws of another. In conclusion, Dr. Horack presents a
carefully worked-out plan of a national corporation law, an examination of
which will serve to indicate at once the scope of his work, the accuracy with
which he has comprehended the defects in one corporation law, and his clear
perception of the remedies necessary. It is impossible to dissent from his
conclusion that, " With the advent of a Federal corporation law, . . . many
of the most flagrant evils of the present corporation system will disappear
and with them the cry of ' anti-trust,' just as the cry against banks disap-
peared as soon as they were put upon a sound basis."
Dr. Horack has rendered a valuable service in the preparation of this
work. His book will be found of great value to lawyers, and to those wider
circles of the public who are addressing themselves with increasing interest
to the study of the corporation problem.'®
" Queries in Ethnography" ^° is a very suggestive booklet indicating
some nine hundred bits of information which missionaries or travellers in
little-known parts of the world would do well to know. The book pre-
supposes a certain modicum of ethnology, but does not profess to be a guide
for the expert. It is designed to give some scientific order and value to the
observations of such persons as are mentioned above. To this end the ques-
tions are carefully grouped, beginning with the problems of daily sustenance,
race perpetuation, adornments and amusements, religious ideas, social struc-
ture, etc. The concluding chapter raises questions as to the effects of con-
tact with higher races.
" The Money Problem" *' is an English publication, with some amend-
ments and revisions, of an American edition which was published in 1894 at a
time when the message of President Cleveland had brought the currency ques-
tion into prominence. There seems little to warrant the republication of such
a book at this time. In the first place, the subject is not a live one ; there is
no money question to be argued on the lines laid down. In the second place,
the manner of presentation is highly theoretical and adds nothing to the fund
of information on the subject. In so far as he deals with credit and causes
for financial panics, banking, etc., Mr. Kitson shows a very meagre grasp of
American conditions.
1* Contributed by Edward Sherwood Meade.
*> By A. G. Keller. Pp. 77. Price, 50 cents. New York : Longmans, Green & Co., 1903.
2" By Arthur Kitson. Pp. .\xvi, 231. Price, 3.9. 6rf. London; Grant Richards, 1903.
[356]
Notes 163
Imperialism is the order of the day. Much has been said and written
of American imperialism and of English imperialism ; and now we have a
French volume on German imperialism.^ The Englishman's discussion
of his country's " world-wide interests" has been translated into the Ger-
man's boast of " deutsche Weltpolitik" and " Weltwirtschaft." M. Lair tells
us, in animated, excellently written French, the origins of German imperial-
ism. He sketches the intellectual and moral evolution which, since 1870, has
so profoundly modified the genius of the German people. There was a time,
not so very long ago, when Germany was content to ape the achievements of
her neighbors, and her highest ambition, in all save science and learning,
seemed to consist in faithful imitation. The Franco-Prussian War, however,
awoke her to a consciousness of herself. And now she seeks to impose her
goods and her political influence, as well as her science and her intellectual
ideals, upon the rest of the world. Her imperialism, says M. Lair, adopts
the two forms of armed peace and industrialism. The author's three chap-
ters, entitled respectively, " Yesterday," " To-day," and " To-morrow," are as
illuminating a discussion of Germany's economic status as has probably ever
been written.
The present protectioxist agitation in England makes Dr. Hermann
Levy's essay on the condition of English farmers before the abolition of the
corn laws especially timely.^ The author undertakes to show that the cir-
cumstances which raised the price of cereals, during the first part of the
nineteenth centurj', to an almost fabulous level, while they enriched the land-
holding classes, yet were disastrous to the large class of tenant farmers. He
maintains, in the light of a careful examination of the statistical records, that
the dire prophecies called forth by the introduction of free trade in England,
have not been fulfilled. (Page 117.) The author's own statement, however,
that " the recrudescence of a movement in favor of agricultural protection
does not seem likely" is scarcely borne out by more recent occurrences.
Centralizatiox IX State Administr.\tiox has already been described
by several interesting monographs in the Columbia University- Studies in His-
tory, Economics, and Public Law. The tendency towards centralization in
Ohio and Indiana is now discussed by Samuel P. Orth ** and William A.
Rawles " respectiveh'. Particular attention is paid to the school system,
— L'Imperialisme allemand. By Maurice Lair. Pp. vii, 341. Price, 3.50 francs. Paris :
Armand Colin, 1903.
23 Die JVol der Englischen Landwirte zur Zeit dtr hohen Getreidezoelle. By Hermann
Levy. (Muenchener Volkswirtschaftliehe Studien, Xo. 56.) Pp. ii, 132. StuMgart and Berlin:
J. G. Cotta, 1903.
-■• The Centralization of Administration in Ohio. Pp. 177. Price, J1.50. New York : Mac-
millan Co., 1903.
* Centralizing Tendencies in the Administration of Indiana. Pp. 336. Price, {2.50. paper;
J3.00, cloth. New York : Macmillan Co., 190-;.
164 The Annals of the American Academy
charities and correction, control over local finance, roads, police, and similar
departments of administration which have recently come under the closer
supervision of the central authorities in each State. The monographs are
especially valuable as showing the general character of the new system of
central control over local governments. Professor Goodnow's guiding hand
can be seen not only in the scope and manner of treatment, but also in
the thoroughness of the work done.
" Toilers of the Home," "° by Lilian Pettengill, missionary to the house-
wife, is an earnest if unconvincing elaboration of the proposition, " Blessed
be drudgery."
Miss Pettengill undertakes to prove two points : first, that the employer
of domestic servants is to blame for their aversion to the service ; and
secondly, that public opinion, as voiced by employer, employee, and the
friends of the latter, is also at the root of the evil. Miss Pettcngill's unit of
investigation is the American housewife, whom, in spite of democratic theo-
ries, she is pleased to depict as belonging to quite a different species from
the toiler whose wrongs the author champions. The fault may be one of detail
rather than one of principle, but her delineation of character is wholly un-
sound. This weakness, combined with the fact that she herself is not a typi-
cal servant girl — although she " desires above all things to seem like other
girls" — robs the experiment of much of its value.
The experiment is based upon the obviously mistaken theory that it is
possible for a young woman just out of college and capable of doing "work
in an office," to enter intimately into the feelings and prejudices of an aver-
age servant girl. She might have been able to weep with them, but she cer-
tainly could not laugh with them. Then, too, how could she have missed
seeing that the nature of the work we do reacts upon us in proportion to our
thought of it? The girl of refinement, brought up in dainty, exact ways, and
bringing a trained mind to bear upon her work, goes into the kitchen and
scrubs. Has she taken into consideration the force which the consciousness
of high motive, nay, of public-spirited self-sacrifice, gives to her scrubbing-
brush? To lose sight of this side of the question is to rob the experiment of
the element of fairness.
The book however, will do some good. It is a trustworthy study of
the technical difficulties encountered in the " profession" of domestic service
by both mistress and maid, and it will arouse those of its readers who " keep
help" to give some thought to the matter. It is doubtful, however, if reform
in this direction can be brought about by a book, no matter how strong;
certainly it will not be done by this book. For although one could imagine a
servant girl tired out with her day's work taking a too vindictive satisfaction
from the petulant plaints of Eliza's co-workers, there is little in the book
which would make her read dignity into her calling.
Miss Pettengill has, after all, drawn a picture rather than suggested a
'-'" The Record of a College Woman's Experience as a Domestic Servant. Pp. xii, 397. Price,
$i.SO. New York : Double-day, Page & Co., 1903.
[358]
Notes 165
remedy, and has only convinced us that the whole problem of domestic ser-
vice is one of individual attack ; and the solution stands thus : Given a suit-
able mistress with a conscience, who is fortunate enough to find a servant
similarly endowed, and the question has been solved for that household."
It is now practically impossible to think of the problem of juvenile de-
fectives and dependents in France without immediately recalling the name of
M. Paul Strauss, who has made it his life-work not only to study the present
condition of this important aspect of the social problem, but who, as a mem-
ber of the French parliament, has been persistently active in devising and
urging a host of reforms. His recent volume on " Depopulation and Child-
Raising" is characterized by the same noble generosity, the same conscien-
tious study of actual conditions, and the same sound sense, which mark
nearly all of his work.^*
For France, the problem of depopulation is in M. Strauss's opinion con-
stantly becoming more acute. It is, moreover, closely connected with the
problems of infanticide and systematic abortion, of permanent concubinage
and illegitimate births, of the industrial employment of prospective mothers,
etc. Moral reasons alone, to say nothing of the patriotic arguments often
advanced in France in favor of better provisions for the care-taking of
illegitimate children or the offspring of the poor, dictate the establishment of
institutions, — such as public nurseries, municipal dairies for the sale of steril-
ized but inexpensive milk, — in behalf of defenceless infancy. M. Strauss
furnishes a critical description of all that is done in these and similar ways
for the sake of the babes of France and their mothers.
" Why the Mind has" a Body," ^^ by C. A. Strong, Professor of Psy-
chology in Columbia University, is a distinctly noteworthy book, in which
the writer, accepting the latest results of modern psychological research,
seeks to determine anew the old question of the relation between mind and
body. First, the three current theories of causal relation, — viz., automatism,
parallelism, and interactionism are passed under a brief, but acutely critical,
review : In part I. is discussed the empirical side — the facts and causal rela-
tion ; part II. is devoted to a somewhat fuller, and always critical, discussion
of metaphysical principles and their application to the main problem.
Finally, the thesis which the writer seeks to establish is that there is no
chasm between mental and physical phenomena ; for things in themselves
are mental in their nature, and panpsychism points the way to the true solu-
tion of the original problem.
■-'" Contributed by Emily Newlands Thomson, New York.
-" Depopulation et Puericulture. By Paul Strauss. Pp. 308. Price, 3.50 francs. Paris :
Bibliothtque Charpentier.
-"■' Pp. X, 355. Price, $2.50. New York : The Macniillaii roni|)atiy, 1903.
[359]
i66 The Annals of the American Academy
In the thirteen years which have elapsed since the first publication
of " Les Lois dc I'Imitation," by Gabriel Tarde,^" it is probably safe to say
that no other French writer has been more often quoted by American stu-
dents of sociology. Up to the present time only one small volume of Tarde's
has been translated, namely, Social Laws, which is a brief summary of his
social conceptions. The appearance, therefore, in English dress of his most
important book, " The Laws of Imitation," is most welcome. Our only
surprise is that the translation was not made long ago. The present trans-
lation is made by Mrs. Elsie Clews Parsons, lecturer in sociology, Barnard
College.
Tarde's fundamental thesis is " society is imitation," society " began
on the day when one man first copied another." History is " a collection
of those things which have been the most successful, that is, of those initia-
tives w^hich have been the most imitated." " In the last analysis all social
facts are beliefs or desires under the different names of dogmas, sentiment,
laws, wants, customs, morals, etc." " When wants or ideas are once started
they always tend to continue to spread themselves in a true geometrical pro-
gression." As civilization progresses, people become less conscious of imi-
tating. Initiation arises from a combination of imitations. Although each
person imitates his model, yet the imitation is not perfect, so we may say
that imitation is affected by the medium through which it passes. Imitation
is thus the elemental social fact. Yet, as Professor Giddings puts it in his
introduction to the present translation, " Tarde perceived that imitation, as
a social form, is only one mode of a universal activity, of that endless repeti-
tion, throughout nature, which in the physical realm we know as the undula-
tions of ether, the vibrations of material bodies, the swing of the planets in
their orbits, the alternations of light and darkness, and of the seasons, the
succession of life and death."
The translation is very good, save for a few minor defects, such as the
use on page 76 of " somnambulism," which confuses the reader until he dis-
covers that hypnotism is the subject under discussion.'^
The housing of the working classes has now been recognized, par-
ticularly by British cities, as a most difficult problem. The Tenement-House
Department in New York City has been heralded as one of the foremost
municipal achievements of the last decade. New Jersey has attempted to
forestall the need for the condemnation of property by establishing a Tene-
ment Commission in time to prepare cities for the growth which is imminent.
Voluntary interest in Philadelphia has undertaken to awaken public senti-
ment against the growing housing evils of that city. Throughout the coun-
try, both in urban and rural districts, there is need for knowledge as to
■■*• The Laws of Imitation. Traiislatefi from the second French edition by Elsie Clews I'ar-
sons, with an Introduction by Franklin H. Giddings. Pp. xxix, 404. New \ork : Henry Holt
& Co., 1903.
'■^^ Contributed by Carl Kelsey, Ph.D.
[360]
Notes 1 67
sanitary houses which shall be cheap and comfortable. " The Housing Hand-
book" ^^ gives just this sort of data, together with illustrations which will help
the architect or the superintendent of health, or the private builder, to apply
the principles of modern construction. Incidentally, this handbook gives
in table and picture a hasty summary of tenement construction in Great
Britain.
In " Principles of Justice in Taxation" '' Dr. Stephen F. Weston
attempts to justify the commonly accepted principles of universality and
equality in taxation by tracing their direct relation to the nature and end of
the State. Taxation, he asserts, is fundamentally an ethical problem; first,
because of its voluntary nature being implied in the voluntary nature of the
State ; secondly, because every individual possesses " natural rights" which
the State does not create but emphasizes ; thirdly, because the tax rests upon
the person, not the property. Ability, not benefits, measures the true ethical
obligation of the individual to the State. Since ability is embodied in eco-
nomic goods, it is the net income that determines equality in taxation.
This is the basis for the author's ethical principles in taxation. The
approach to the problem of taxation is really from the point of view of in-
dividual rather than social ethics. The principles as developed by him,
carried to their logical conclusions, would eventually limit and circumscribe
the functions of the State. The author's emphasis of the purely personal
nature of the tax, the demand " that there be the same relative means of
satisfying wants according to their importance after as before the tax," the
rejection of the inheritance tax from a theoretical point of view, the ex-
clusion of differential rates based on the source and character of the income,
the hesitating acceptance of the principle of progression in taxation, indicate
a plan of individual ethics out of harmony with the actual progression of
modern States. A " natural right" of the individual to hold property, or a
" natural right" of the State in land because it was presumably once held in
common, of which the author speaks, is not generally recognized by present-
day writers. A too slavish adherence to so-called ethical principles is fatal to
justice in taxation. The concept of taxation as a voluntary act is too subtle to
be of value. To the individual it certainly is not voluntary, since the age in
which he lives and the civilization of which he is a part determine the func-
tions of the State. By the use of Hegelian phraseology the author seeks to
emphasize the personal nature of the tax. It should be borne in mind, how-
ever, that neither the person nor the property per se determines taxability,
but it is determined by the relation existing between the person and the eco-
nomic good he controls. The book is well worthy the serious attention of
every student of economics. It is a logical and careful attempt to develop
from his premises a solution to the theoretical difficulties of the problem, at
the same time throwing considerable light on the theories of other writers.'*
3'- The Housing Handbook. By W. Thompson. Pp. xvi, 388. Price, 60 cents. London:
National Housing Reform Council, 1903.
^^ Pp. 299. Price, $2.00. New York : Columbia University Press, 1903.
^ tontributed by Albert Charles Muhse, Cornell University.
[361]
i68 The Annals of the American Academy
History of the German Struggle for Liberty. By Poultney Bigelovv. Illus-
trated with portraits, in three volumes. Volume III. Pp. xvi, 343.
Price, $2.25. New York and London : Harper Brothers, 1903.
Those familiar with Mr. Bigelow's two previous volumes will not expect to
find in this one a history in the usual sense of the word. Indeed the title of the
third volume would correspond more closely to the context, if it read Studies
in the History of the German Struggle for Liberty, for both the subject-matter
and the treatment are far from being consistently that of a more serious his-
tory. In no particular is it like the ordinary histories of the period and least
of all like the German works. At the outset Mr. Bigelow declares that it is
his intention to sketch for the English reader an outline of " the Germany
which gloried in the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, which soon thereafter
sank into sullen apathy under the police administration of the Holy Alliance,
and which finally took bloody vengeance for its outraged manhood by inau-
gurating the revolutions of 1848."
But even this does not describe the work. It is less a sketch than a num-
ber of sketches or essays of a biographical and anecdotal character, very
loosely and disconnectedly strung together. The different portions of the book
are not fashioned and moulded to the plan of the whole ; Mr. Bigelow unfor-
tunately does not apply his intimate knowledge of the subject to give us the
larger, more comprehensive view. As a consequence the subject is very un-
evenly treated, the lacuna being particularly striking in connection with the
political and economic forces of the period. The author's partiality for the
dramatic side of his story seems usually to have been the determining factor
in the important question of selection. The life and aspirations of the heroes
of 1848, the martyrs in the cause of Germany's democracy are excellently
sketched ; his narrative glows with enthusiasm as it treats of Turnvater Jahn,
Reuter, Blum, and Kossuth. The representatives of reaction on the other
hand are treated in Mr. Bigelow's most ironical vein. Only contempt is dealt
out to the incapable Frederick William III. ; he is never more than " the hus-
band of Queen Louise."
The style, although replete with Mr. Bigelow's mannerisms, is clear, in-
teresting and vivacious. Many of the pen-portraits are masterly, while the
narrative carries the reader along easily and pleasantly. To the general
reader, therefore, the volume will prove entertaining and suggestive. To the
specialist, however, it will scarcely appeal as serious history, for besides the
uneven, sketchy character of the work it is at times inaccurate and unreliable.
There is also a proneness to introduce historical parallels drawn from con-
ditions or events in other countries, particularly from the United States. Oc-
casionally these are helpful, but they occur too frequently, often leading to
much redundancy. Nor are the sallies of this sort always the most apt, as
for example when Turnvater Jahn is pictured " as something of a cross be-
tween the illustrious Samuel Johnson and Paul Kriiger" (p. 78).
[362]
Reciprocity 169
There is no index despite the fact that this is the last volume of the
work, and the value of the illustrations, many of them excellent, is lost
because no reference to the source from which they are drawn accompanies
the prints.
W. E. LiNGELBACH.
University of Pennsylvania.
Reciprocity. By J. Laurence Laughlin, Ph.D., and H. Parker Willis,
Ph.D. Pages xi, 583. Price, $2.00. New York : The Baker & Taylor
Co., 1903.
A thorough treatment of the subject of reciprocity has been much needed.
Although the discussion of the tariff has been subordinated to the considera-
tion of the monetary questions for the last six years, the tariff is in no wise
a past issue and is certain to be the most important question in national
politics for several years to come.
The work recently published by Professor Laughlin, of the University
of Chicago, and Professor Willis, of Washington and Lee University, is a
comprehensive, historical, and analytical treatment of the reciprocity ques-
tion as it has presented itself in the American tariff system. The volume
contains a vast amount of information and is rich in historical and biblio-
graphical material. It gives ample evidence of extensive Research on the
part of its authors. They have endeavored to do their work so that it need
not be done again by subsequent investigators.
The volume, however, is not without defects. Unfortunately, the authors
were not able to free themselves from partisan bias. The whole narrative
is colored by the opinions of the writers. The book is not an impartial and
objective treatment of the subject. It is, of course, a difficult matter to deal
objectively with a question so controversial as reciprocity is, but the task is
not an impossible one for the investigator whose purpose is simply to
ascertain and set forth the facts, and to confine himself to the statement of
only such conclusions as may unquestionably be deduced from the facts
presented.
The book is, moreover, crude in literary form. The volume need not
have been much more than one-half its present size. There is far too much
quotation and too much paraphrasing. The extent to which the volume
is made up of quotations may be illustrated by reference to Chapter VI.,
dealing with " Reciprocity and the McKinley Act." This chapter is thirty
pages in length, and of the thirty pages, eleven and one-half are made up of
quotation. Chapter XL, on " The Struggle for Reciprocity with Cuba," con-
tains sixty-four pages, of wliich nearly twenty-two consist of quotation.
Chapter V., on "The Sugar Situation," illustrates the extent to which the
authors have made use of citations.
One of the most serious defects in the book is that the authors resort
from time to time to imaginative history and to an explanation of personal
and legislative acts by supposing the motives back of those acts. This is a
[363]
I/O The Annals of the American Academy
temptation against which all historians need to guard, but the historian who
indulges in supposition may always be detected. One instance of interpreting
history by supposition is found on page 350 of the volume, where the origin
of the Industrial Commission is explained in a footnote. The following
statement is made : " The trust question reached an acute stage. Presi-
dent McKinley determined to resort to his favorite plan — the commission
idea. The Industrial Commission was appointed by him to consider all
phases of industrial life in the United States." As a matter of fact, Presi-
dent McKinley had nothing whatever to do in promoting the legislation
establishing the Industrial Commission.
In spite of its shortcomings, the book- will be of great service to every
student of the tariff and reciprocity. The appendices, as well as the body
of the book, constitute a compendium of information of which all future stu-
dents of the subject will be certain to make use.
Emory R. Johnson.
University of Pennsylvania.
American Railways. By Edwin A. Pratt. Pp. viii, 309. Price, $1.25. Lon-
don and New York : Macmillan Co., 1903.
This book is largely a reprint from articles published in The Times of
London between January 5 and June 5, 1903, and consists of matter collected
in the winter of 1902-03 during the author's four-months trip to the United
States. It makes no pretence of being a thorough study of American railway
conditions and problems, but is rather a loose series of observations and
impressions.
In many respects the author finds American railways inferior to those
of Great Britain. Railways in the United States were largely built in advance
of settlement, and there is hardly a line, he concludes, which is complete
in the sense that the London and Northwestern is complete. " While,
therefore, on the one hand, much is said about locomotives and cars in
America of power or carrying capacity far in excess of anything to be found in
England — and intended to deal with a freight traffic equally in excess of what
is available here [in England] — on the other hand, one finds lines that cross
one another or that pass along streets or thoroughfares on the level, lines
imperfectly ballasted, and lines with trestle bridges, inadequate signalling
arrrangements, and primitive conditions generally, which would not be
tolerated for a single day in the working of our own railways." " In respect to
track," the author thinks that " the British railways, as a whole, are dis-
tinctly in advance of the American railways, as a whole, though the best of the
latter are fully equal to the best of the former." " In the matter of fencing
and carrying of the railways above or below the street level, the superiority
is undoubtedly on the side of the British lines." " In the matter of signalling
arrangements, the general system in the United Kingdom is superior to the
general system in the United States." " With a few exceptions, American
railway stations are distinctly inferior to railway stations in Great Britain."
" Taking the ordinary type of rolling stock, I should say that the corridor
[364]
Gcniiaiiy: The JVeldijig of a World Poiver 171
carriages to be found on the main-line trains of British railways, for the use
of which no extra fare is charged (except in the case of sleepers), are far
superior to the alleged first-class, or ' omnibus' class, of the American railways.
The same is equally true of the newer type of compartment carriages on this
side." " A comparison of casualties on the railway systems of the two
countries is distinctly favorable to British railways, while with ourselves a
greater degree of security is afforded by the guarantee that every accident
will be the object of close and independent investigation by government
officials."
Mr. Pratt recognizes certain excellent features of American railway
management, and is especially impressed by the economies effected in the
transportation of freight by increasing the size of cars and trains and the
hauling power of locomotives. Owing, however, to the shorter haul and the
feebler traffic on British railways, he believes " that it by no means follows
that what can be done, and done with undeniable success, in the United
States would be equally capable of application in our own country."
The conclusions of the author are essentially negative. " British methods
are well adapted to meet British conditions, just as American methods are
well adapted to meet American conditions, and there is very little for either
to learn from the other."
Walter E. Weyl.
P/it7ade!phia.
Germany: The Welding of a World Power. By Wolf von Schierbrand.
Pp. vii, 376. Price, $2.40 net. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.
One is disposed to look with suspicion on a book that pretends prac-
tically to exhaust the whole subject of " Germany" within the compass of
less than 400 pages. There is scarcely an aspect of his subject to which the
author does not devote some space and attention. One's suspicion is height-
ened, moreover, by the journalistic tone of several chapters which do not rise
above the level of average newspaper reporting. Yet there are parts of the
book which are worth reading and pondering. Those to which the economist
and the student of politics will turn with most interest are the chapters on
" Political Life," " The Socialist Movement," " The Agrarian Movement,"
" The Tariff Problem," " Commerce and Manufacturing," " Shipping," and
" Germany's Colonies."
Mr. von Schierbrand believes that Germany must be regarded as a " world
power" for several reasons: (i) she stands foremost in military power; (2)
by 1910 she will be the second maritime power in the world; (3) so far as
ocean traffic is concerned, her merchant marine stands second; (4) her
population, now approaching 60,000,000, has increased 8 per cent, within the
last five years; (5) her foreign commerce is the second largest among
nations. Above and beyond these reasons, however, the author very properly
calls attention to the excellent technical education which Germany provides
for her voung men. Prominent exporting houses are accustomed to sending
[3651
1/2 The Annals of the American Academy
young well-trained representatives to countries that are their main customers,
to stud}- the field for a term of years and to establish permanent business
relations. An infinite capacity for painstaking effort and any amount of
patience and adaptability are valuable assets in a struggle for the control of
foreign markets ; and these are eminently German qualities.
The chapter entitled " Germany's Political Turning- Point" maintains
that Germany must modify her foreign policy. The Triple Alliance, never
regarded by its members as more than a temporary arrangement, is losing
its raison d'etre. There are no sound reasons why Austria and Italy should
remain in it, and Germany has passed beyond the stage in which she can
regard it as very important. Germany must put herself on terms of intimate
friendship, if not on those of a formal alliance, with the only two powers that
are open to such an engagement — England and the United States. But an
Anglophile foreign policy would be difficult, in view of German dislike for
England, and because of the keen, unfriendly commercial rivalry between the
two nations. Since the Spanish-American War the trend of things, says the
author, has clearly shown that the Emperor means to court the favor of the
United States, and his diplomacy has already borne fruit in the settlement of
the Samoa difficulty, in the acquisition of the Carolines, and during the recent
troubles in China. He has, moreover, given adherence to the American
definition of the Monroe Doctrine.
It should be pointed out, however, that the economic interests of the two
nations clash too violently ever to permit of a close friendship between
them.
The chapters on the Socialist Movement, the' Polish Problem, and the
Agrarian Movement are the best in the book, — thorough, judicious, and read-
able. It is impossible to understand German political life or to gauge the
probabilities of the future without an understanding of these three subjects;
and certainly it would be difficult to find a better account of them than Mr.
Schierbrand has given. While the book as a whole attempts to cover loo
much ground and parts of it sink to the level of mere newspaper gossip,
there are nevertheless chapters, like the three to which we have just referred,
which deserve careful reading. These passages will command the attention
of those who, realizing that the era of American economic exclusiveness is
indeed past, recognize that our most formidable rival w'ill probably be Ger-
many rather than England.
C. W. A. Veditz.
Bates College.
American Tariff Controversies in the Nineteenth Century. By Edward St.\n-
wooD. Two volumes. Pp. xiii, 410. Price, $5.00. Boston: Houghton,
Mifflin & Co., 1903.
Aside from the government documents, this is the most comprehensive
work upon any phase of the tariff question that has yet appeared. The
writer was previously known to the public as the author of a " History of
Presidential Elections;" also, in the United States Census for 1900, as well as
for 1890, his work is to be seen as that of an " expert special agent" in cotton
[366]
American Tariff Controversies in the Nineteenth Century 173
manufacture. He comes to his task, therefore, with both literary training and
the expert knowledge of at least one of the most important industries affected
by the tariff.
" Light, not heat," should be the watchword of him who would approach
the tariff question. One who is by nature inclined to " take sides," is by
nature disqualified from giving an adequate presentation. But this is not say-
ing that it cannot be presented from the partisan stand-point. A writer who
frankly tells you where he stands, and who honestly presents all the facts
at his command, is to be trusted by friends and opponents alike, whatever
may be said of his conclusions. The work before us, to use the words of the
author, " is confessedly that of one who believes that the system of protec-
tion has given an opportunity which the opposing system would not have
afforded for the unexampled growth of the country, and who has not advanced
this doctrine with more confidence or with more persistency than writers of
another school have expressed their abhorrence for protection." Hence the
work is confessedly that of an advocate of protection, who in effect makes for
himself the modest claim that his zeal has not led him further astray than
the zeal of others has led them in the other direction. A work so free from
partisan rancor as Mr. Stanwood's is deserving of better company than that of
the mass of literature on either side of this vexed question, a position which
the reviewer may accord to it, even though the author may not claim it. In
the selection of material out of a superabundance of detail for a history of
this series of great controversies, much depends upon the judgment as well
as the fairmindedness of the historian. Realizing this fact, Mr. Stanwood
says, " However greatly the author may have failed in the exercise of good
judgment in this respect, he is not conscious that his choice of material has
been affected by personal bias, nor that any facts essential to the formation
of an opinion contrary to his own have been suppressed."
Since the appearance of Taussig's "Tariff History of the United States,"
undoubtedly the best work upon the subject previously written, the excellent
monograph of Hill's upon " The First Stages of the Tariff Policy of the
United States" has thrown a great deal of light upon our early tariff history.
Mr. Stanwood has wisely profited by these researches. Moreover, he has so
thoroughly acquainted himself with the debates upon the first tariff bill
(1789), that he has quite successfully refuted the claim that it was not meant
to be a protective measure. It may fairly be questioned, though, whether our
author has succeeded in doing justice to Madison, whose position he char-
acterizes as "peculiar," and whose remarks upon the bill mentioned " are
certainly not self-consistent." There is no inconsistency in accepting the
postulates of free-trade, per se, as Madison did, and at the same time, for lack
of ideal industrial conditions, favoring the policy of protection. This was the
position taken by Liszt, Henry Clay, and many another protectionist since
then.
It is impossible to speak in detail where so much ground has been cov-
ered. One must pass over the changes of attitude as reflected in the Non-
intercourse Act, the Act of 1824, the Bill of Abominations, as well as the
[367]
174 The AiDials of the American Academy
battles in which Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Everett, Benton, and others fought
their hardest. Some rather lengthy quotations are made from the speeches
and from Secretary Walker's famous report, but the reader will probably not
regret the addition thus made to the length of the work.
About three-fourths of the second volume are given to the tariff legisla-
tion of the Civil War and the period following. In this part of the work,
which is certainly not beyond its due proportionate length, it may fairly be
questioned if the author has maintained his former level of treatment. It
would be easier here for an opponent to convict him of being a mere apolo-
gist of high protection for manufactures to the neglect of extractive industries.
The main criticism upon the whole work is that the author betrays some
lack of preparation for his task on the industrial and economic side. To be
sure, the work is true to its title, and is therefore of interest to the historian
rather than to the scientist. We are told in the introduction that " the simple
truth is that this is in no sense a treatise on political economy," and that " one
may search in vain herein for any discussion of the theory of wages, of the
wisdom of buying in the cheapest market, and of other philosophical ideas
upon which men have based their conclusions as to the economic effects of
tariffs." But it is just as true, that he who would write a history of American
tariff controversies should be thoroughly grounded in the economic and
industrial causes at work ; for one must be a good deal of a philosopher in
order to be much of a historian. Something of this would have saved him
from such a statement as the " three great agencies" by which man's wants
are supplied are " trade, manufacture, and transportation ;" and again, from
ascribing the cause of the crisis of 1873 wholly to the Civil War.
In conclusion it may be said that if one is looking for an investigation
into the relation between the tariff and wages, the tariff and prices, the tariff
and internal development, etc., he will be disappointed. This is no part of
the purpose of the writer, and it remains yet for some one to perform this, the
most valuable service that can be undertaken in connection with this subject.
Mr. Stanwood is concerned with another series of data of a political and
historical character. He has given an unusually readable narrative for such
a prosaic subject, the style is connected and clear, the statements of fact trust-
worthy, and his opinions, at the worst, could with difficulty be proved to spring
from "offensive partisanship." The work will doubtless be widely read, as it
deserves to be.
Jacob Elon Conner.
University of Pennsylvania.
The American Revolution. Part II. By the Right Hon. Sir George Otto
Trevelyan, Bart. In two volumes. Pp. 353 and 344. Price, $5.00.
London and New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1903.
Those who had read the first volume of this work must have awaited
this continuation of the Revolution history with eagerness. Whatever one
may think of the scientific value of the history, one can hardly resist the
charm of the story. It would be hard to tell where the fascination of the
The American Revolution
/o
style lies. It is not in the rapid flow of the narrative, for it often pauses for
many pages, and the still waters are even more engaging than the running
stream. If the historian dwells for a chapter on the political discontent in
England, the vividness of the details or the interest in the personalities seems
to account for the breathless way we read. Again, the witty and brilliant
criticisms of the ministerial follies appear to enlist our admiration, yet our
attention is never distracted from the picture or the story by the cleverness
of the writer. Sometimes the new meaning given to well-known events or
the keen attack upon an old theory engages us. Gradually it is seen that
no one characteristic of style has taken hold of our attention, but rather a
happy blending of many excellent traits, none of which has an undue weight.
The new volumes are less a biography of Fox and more a history of the
Revolution than was the first. As far as military events are concerned, the
work advances from the evacuation of Boston to the close of the Trenton and
Princeton campaign. But military themes are the least of the author's in-
terests. He gives the bulk of the volumes to a study of the great struggle
between the two great English parties, fought both in England and America,
in the forum there and on the battle-field here. The present tendency among
American writers to emphasize the rights of the British government as against
those of the colonists is reacted upon and a broader, fairer statement substi-
tuted.
There are many new features of the Revolution graphically drawn, and
old topics are emphasized where they have been subordinated. One of the
most striking instances is an exposition of John Wesley's testimony as to
the political discontent in England at the outbreak of the war. " In every
part of England where I have been (and I have been East, West, North, and
South within these two years), trade is exceedingly decayed, and thousands
of people are quite unemployed." " The people . . . are far more deeply
dissatisfied than they appear to have been even a year or two before the
Great Rebellion." "They heartily despise his Majesty, and hate him with
a perfect hatred." This testimony is elaborated and defended, while con-
trary evidence is subjected to exhaustive criticism. Another much-empha-
sized topic is the political revolution in Pennsylvania and the part taken by
the Quakers. The subject of the Loyalists is not disposed of in a single para-
graph, but is woven with a thousand threads into the whole fabric of the
revolutionary story. Many pages are devoted to the apprehensions enter-
tained in England about the bearing of the American question on English
liberty. There is a careful examination of English contemporary opinion,
as shown in the newspapers, the letters and diaries, society talk, the pam-
phleteers, and in the writings of contemporary historians. The religious
aspect of the American dispute is given over forty pages.
The omissions are what we might expect in the work of an English his-
torian. Little attention is given to the state constitutions and the political
philosophy of the time. The constitutional questions generally are neglected,
as are all those matters which are significant in the light of future American
history. C. H. Van Tyne.
University of Michigan.
[369]
ROOKS RECEIVKD FROM DECE:sIRER i, 1903, TO FEBRUARY i, 1904.
Adickes, Dr., und Beutlcr, D., Die Sozialen Aufgaben der deutschen Stadte. Leipzig: Duncker
& Humblot. 2 M.
Andrews, E. B., The United Slates in Our Own Time, 1S70-1903. Scribners. I5.00.
Ashley, W. J., British Industries. Longmans, Green & Co. ^1.80.
Beveridge, A. J., The Russian Advance. Harpers. J2.50.
Blair. Emma H. and Robertson, J. .A., The Philippine Islands. Vol. IX. Cleveland : A. H. Clark
Co. $4.00.
Byles, J. B., Sophisms of Free Trade and Popular Political Economy examined. New ed. New
York: John Lane. I1.25.
Cooley, T. M., A Treatise on the Constitutional Limitations. Boston : Little, Brown & Co. |6.oo.
Crooker, J. H., Religious Freedom in American Education. Boston: American Unitarian Asso-
ciation. $1 00.
Darwin, L., Municipal Trade. New York : E. P. Dutton & Co.
Davitt, ^L, Within the Pale. New York : A. S. Barnes & Co. $1.20.
Dix, E. A., Champlain the Founder of New France. Appleton. |i.oo.
Egerton, H. E., Origin and Growth of English Colonies. New York : Clarendon Press.
Evans-Gordon, \V., The Alien Immigrant. London: ^Villiam Heinemann. Imported by Scrib-
ners. $1.50.
Fea, A., After Worcester Fight. New York : John Lane. |6.oo.
Ferrero, G., Militarism. Boston : S. C. Page. $3-50-
Flower, B. O., How England averted a Revolution of Force. Trenton, N. J. : Albert Brandt. J1.25.
Ford, G. S., Hanover and Prussia, 1795-1803. New York :' Columbia University Press. ?2.oo.
de Forest, R. W., and Veiller, Lawrence, Ed. by. Tenement-House Problem. Macmillan. |6.oo.
Gilman, Charlotte P., The Home: Its Work and Its Influence. McClure, Phillips & Co. J1.50.
Gordon, J. B., Reminiscences of the Civil War. Scribners. I3.00.
Gore, J. H., Political Parties and Party Policies in Germany. Putnams.
Grant, Mrs. Anne. Memoirs of an American Lady. Dodd, Mead & Co. 13.5°.
Hadley, A. T., The Relations between Freedom and Responsibility in the Evolution of Democratic
Government. Scribners. $1.00.
Harder, A., Bismarck's Letters to his Wife. Appleton. $1.00.
Haywood, M. D., Governor William Tryoti and his Administration in the Province of North
Carolina, 1765-1771. Raleigh, N. C. : E. M. Uzzell.
Hitchcock, R., The Louisiana Purchase. Boston : Ginn & Co. $1.25.
Hoar, G. F., Autobiography of Seventy Years. 2 Vols. Scribners. J7.50 set.
Horacek, Dr. C, Das Ausgedinge. Wien : Franz Deuticke.
Horwitz, C. N., Twentieth Century Chronology of the World. Grafton Press. $5.00.
Joly, H., L'Enfance Coupable. Paris : Lecoffre. 2 fr.
Jordan, D. S., Call of the Twentieth Century. Boston : American Unitarian Association. |o.8o.
A Keystone of Empire. Harpers. $2.25.
Lansing, R., and Jones, G. M., Government and Civil Institutions of New York State. New York :
Silver, Burdctt & Co.
Leroy-Beaulieu, P., Le Collectivisme. Paris: Guillaumin & Cie. 9 fr.
Lewis, R. E., The Educational Conquest of the Far East. New York : F. H. Re.vell Co. Ji.oo.
Lodge, H. C, The Story of the Revolution. Scribners. I3.00.
Menger, A., L'Ktat Socialiste. Paris : Soc. nouvelle de librairie et d'edition. 3.50 fr.
Meynell, W., Benjamin Disraeli. Appleton. $3.00.
Miller, D. R., The Criminal Classes. Dayton, Ohio: United Brethren Publishing House. $1.00.
Palmer, F. H. E., Austro-Hungarian Life in Town and Country. Putnams. |i.2o.
Richard, G., Manuel de Morale suivi de Notions de Sociologie. Paris : Ch. Delagrave.
von Schierbrand, W., The Kaiser's Speeches. Harpers. I2.50.
SchmoUer, G., i'Jber einige Grundfragen der Sozialpolitik. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot.
7.20 M.
Seager, H. R., Introduction to Economics. New York: Henry Holt & Co.
Smith, J. H., Arnold's March from Cambridge to Quebec. Putnams. $2.00.
Spears, J. R., and Clark, A. H., A History of the Mississippi Valley. New York : A. S. Clark.
$5.00.
Sternberg, G. M., Infection and Immunity. Putnams. 52.00.
Trotter, S., The Geography of Commerce. Macmillan. $1.10.
Webb Sidney and Beatrice, History of Liquor Licensing in England. Longmans. $1.00.
[370]
NOTES
I. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
AMERICAN CITIES
Baltimore — The Liquor Question} The general law of Maryland re-
quires of every retail liquor dealer the payment of an annual license fee, vary-
ing in amount from $i8 to $150, according to the value of his stock in trade.
Until 1890 Baltimore was included in the application of this general law, but
in that year the legislature provided a special license-granting system for the
city. Its main features are as follows : The governor, with the consent of
the senate, appoints biennially three persons to constitute a Board of Liquor
License Commissioners for Baltimore, all expenses and salaries being paid
by the city. Every applicant for a retail liquor license must file a petition
with the board, in which are stated particulars as to character of applicant,
location and ownership of proposed saloon, etc., with an appended recom-
mendation signed by ten residents of the ward. Notice of the application
is published in the newspapers, and the board then gives a public hearing to
all the residents of the neighborhood who may favor or oppose the granting
of such license. The board, after this, makes its decision, and in granting
or rejecting a license its discretion is unlimited. Licenses cannot be granted
for more than a year; the fee is $250, one- fourth of the proceeds from this
source going to the State, the remainder to the city.
The regulation of the city saloon is also a matter of State action, pro-
vided for in special laws of the legislature. Those now in force prohibit the
sale of intoxicants (i) on Sundays or on election days, except in hotels to
guests in their rooms or at meals ; (2) to minors or persons declared intem-
perate by husband, wife, or guardian; (3) between the hours of twelve mid-
night and five a.m. No license is issuable within certain designated districts,
such as the neighborhood of certain factories, schools, etc. The enforcement
of these laws rests, of course, with the city police department, which is also
controlled directly by the State through a Board of Police Commissioners
appointed by the governor. In this manner the saloon is entirely removed
from municipal control and placed in the hands of State boards. The char-
acter of such boards is, of course, but the reflex of the character of the State
administration. Before the so-called " reform movement" of 1895, there was
undoubtedly much laxity in the granting of licenses, but since then there has
been a noticeable improvement, and it is now a difficult matter to secure a
license when the opposition in the neighborhood is strong. Police enforce-
ment of the liquor laws is ostensibly strict. It is difficult to determine the
exact efficiency of this, but there has been an apparent improvement in recent
years.
The saloon wields a large power in local politics ; to remove it entirely
1 Communication of Hugh S. Hanna, Esq., Jolins Hopkins I'niversity, Baltimore, Md.
12 [371]
1/8 The Annals of the American Academy
seems at present Utopian. If the system of absolute State control of the
liquor license and police department continues, it seems best, on the whole,
to retain the existing method of supervision by boards appointed by the
governor. With the present high character of the city administration, these
twro departments could doubtless be better conducted directly by the city.
But such a change is unlikely ; and in the long run State control in this
matter is not an unmixed evil. For, by thus shearing the municipal elections
of these important offices, the city government becomes of less moment to
the politicians, and the way of improvement in other municipal departments
is made easier.
Local option as a solvent has never been tried, and the chances favor
the continuance of the present system indefinitely, especially as the income
from licenses forms important items in the State and city treasuries. It
might, indeed, be practicable to increase the present license charge of $250.
When this was first introduced, there was an immediate decrease of a third
in the number of saloons, with a consequent higher character of the remain-
der, thus rendering possible an easier popular and police supervision. A still
higher fee might have similar good effects without materially increasing the
danger of illegal selling.
Cleveland — Tlic Liquor Question!' The municipal code adopted in 1902
gave to municipalities authority to " regulate" saloons, but this authority does
not permit the modification in any way of statutory provisions upon the sub-
jects of taxation or local option. Under statutory authorization the city of
Cleveland has provided by ordinance that saloons shall remain closed between
the hours of twelve o'clock midnight and four o'clock in the morning. Prose-
cutions for Sunday opening and for the sale of intoxicating liquors to minors
are carried on under the statutes, there being no ordinance upon those sub-
jects. There is no requirement of bonds from saloon-keepers.
The provisions of the local option law of 1902 have been taken advantage
of to a considerable extent throughout the State. Many of the smaller cities
and towns have thus abolished the saloon. A local option election has not
been had in any of the larger cities. An effort will be made during the
present session of the legislature to secure the enactment of a ward local
option measure for cities.
My personal opinion, based upon some observations, and shared by many
other observers, is that, locally, enforcement is " liberal." This statement is
especially applicable to the enforcement of the Sunday closing laws. The
violation of these laws is manifest, and police judges require great particu-
larity and refinement of proof before a conviction can be secured. The saloon
is quite active in politics, and the saloon-keepers and their adherents usually
act in harmony. It has been the custom of the saloon interests, working
through a committee of an organization embracing practially all saloon-
keepers, to select a ticket composed of those candidates deemed most friendly
or least hostile to the business. This is done with considerable secrecy. In
-'Coninuiiiication of F. E. Stevens, Esq., Secretary -Municipal Association, Cleveland, Ohio.
[372]
Miinicipal Government 179
other ways less definite, but perhaps equally effectual, the saloon is a political
power and the saloons are head-quarters for ward politics. The saloon con-
cerns itself chiefly with candidates for the mayoralty, police court positions,
and the city council.
Buffalo — The Liquor Question.^ Since April 30, 1896, the licensing and
regulation of saloons in Buffalo, as well as everywhere else in the State, have
been governed wholly by the State liquor tax law, which upon that date
superseded all local regulations and abolished all local Boards of Excise,
their rights, powers, and duties. The law does not restrict the number of
saloons that may be established in any place. It does, however, enumerate
certain persons, corporations, etc., who may not traftic in liquors, but any
other person or corporation who can pay the required tax and furnish the
required bond may set up a saloon. The amount of bond required is one and
one-half times the amount of tax paid, but in no case less than $500. The
conditions are, that the applicant will not allow any gambling on the prem-
ises, nor permit the premises to become disorderly; will not violate any pro-
visions of the liquor tax law, and will pay all fines and penalties that may
accrue. The amount of the tax varies according to the population of the local-
ity where paid, and also according to the kind of license desired. For the sale
of liquor to be drunk on the premises, it varies from $150 to $1200 (the latter
for Greater New York) ; if the liquor is not to be drunk on the premises, the
tax varies from $75 to $750. A pharmacist's license, however, costs $7.50
anywhere. In Buffalo the first-mentioned kind of license costs $750, the
other $450. In counties containing a city of the first class the tax is collected
and the tax certificate (which is the license) is issued by a special deputy com-
missioner of excise appointed by the state commissioner, in other counties by
the county treasurer. One-half of the taxes collected are paid to the State,
the other half to the locality in which they were received, the expense of
collection being first deducted.
The State law regulates everything connected with the traffic, and the
municipalities have nothing to do but to enforce the State regulations. By the
State law saloons may not be open at all on Sunday nor before five a.m. on
Monday. On other days the hours of closing are one to five A.M., also on
election days during the hours when the polls are open, if the saloon is within
a quarter of a mile of any polling-place. Liquors may not be sold or given
to minors under eighteen years of age, to intoxicated persons, habitual drunk-
ards, or Indians ; nor to any person to whom the dealer has been forbidden
to sell by written notice from the parent, guardian, husband, wife, or child
of such person over sixteen years of age, or by a magistrate or overseer of
the poor of the town, the notice in the latter case applying only when the
person is wholly or partly a charge upon the town.
For the purpose of enforcing the act, the State Commissioner of Excise
is furnished with only sixty special agents. As this force is totally inadequate
to cover so large a State, it is made the duty of all sheriffs, deputy sheriffs,
3 Communication of S. C. Richardson, Buffalo, N. Y.
i8o TJie Annals of the American Academy
police officers, and constables forthwith to notify the District Attorney of the
county of all violations of the law coming to their knowledge, and the Dis-
trict Attorney then prosecutes through the grand jury. In Buffalo the enforce-
ment of the law is said to be extremely " liberal."
Local option exists in towns only — not in cities — and is thus confined to
rural communities. At each biennial town meeting, provided that ten per
cent, of the voters request it in advance, the question is submitted to the
voters in substantially the following form : " Shall any person be authorized
to traffic in liquors : i, to be drunk on the premises ; 2, not to be drunk on
the premises; 3, as a pharmacist; 4, as a hotel-keeper?"
To what extent the saloon is in politics in Buffalo the writer is unable to
say ; but he believes that the following scheme would go far to eliminate it
therefrom, — viz. :
1. Local option everywhere.
2. Where licenses are granted at all, the number should be restricted, say
to one for every thousand inhabitants (permitting one, however, in a com-
munity of less than a thousand inhabitants, if a majority so vote).
3. A minimum fee, where licenses are granted, of at least $1000 a year,
which, however, may be increased to any amount by the local authorities.
4. No person or corporation engaged or interested, directly or indirectly,
in the manufacture or sale of spirituous or "malt liquors to be accepted as
surety on a liquor-seller's bond.
5. Sunday opening of saloons to be permitted, at least in cities, to a
reasonable extent, — say from one p.m. to midnight, — under the usual restric-
tions as to good order.
6. The penalty for illegal selling of liquor to be imprisonment only, with-
out choice of a fine.
7. The entire revenue from license fees to go to the community granting
the license.
San Francisco — The Liquor Question* Under the State constitution
" local option" exists in all the municipalities of the State until the State
legislature enacts a law to the contrary. Section 11 of Article XL of that
instrument provides as follows : " Any county, city, town, or township may
make and enforce within its limits all such local police, sanitary, and other
regulations as are not in conflict with general laws."
An excellent discussion of the powers conferred by this section is given
by the court in ex-parte Campbell, 74 California 20, where an ordinance of
the city of Pasadena prohibiting saloons was held valid, although it was
shown that the State legislature had passed a large number of statutes fos-
tering the liquor traffic, and although Los Angeles County, in which Pasadena
is situated, had levied a license tax on saloons, which would, of course,
produce no revenue in Pasadena. There are no general laws of the State
which in any way interfere mith the municipality's power to prohibit saloons
or to impose license taxes on them.
< Comniuiiicalion of William Demiian, Esq., San Francisco, Cal.
[374]
Municipal Government i8i
San Francisco has its own charter, framed by its own Board of Free-
holders, and passed by its own citizens. This provides for the concentration
of executive control in the mayor, who appoints all the municipal boards and
has the power to remove their members without trial. Under the charter the
Board of Police Commissioners have the following power regarding permits
to keep saloons :
" To grant permits to any person desiring to engage in the sale of liquor
in less quantity than one quart, and to grant permits to any person engaged
in the business of selling liquor to be drunk on the premises, and to revoke
any such permit when it shall appear to the board that the business of the
person to whom such permit was given is conducted in a disorderly or im-
proper manner. Without such permit none of such persons shall engage in
the business of selling liquor. If the board refuse to grant such permit, or
propose to revoke any permit that has been granted, the person who is
refused such permit or whose permit it is proposed to revoke shall be entitled
to be heard before the board in person or through counsel, and to have, free
of charge, all reasonable facilities at the hearing. Such permits shall not be
granted for more than three months at one time, and they shall distinctly
state the name of the person to whom the same is given and the description
of the premises where such business is to be carried on. Such permits shall
at all times be subject to inspection by any member of the department. Com-
plaints to revoke permits granted by the board must be in writing, signed by
the person making the same, and filed with the secretary of the board; and
a copy thereof, certified by the secretary, must be served upon the party
complained against at least five days before the time set for the hearing of
the complaint." ^
The Board of Supervisors, an elected body, has the power to fix the
license tax.* The supervisors have fixed the license at $21 per quarter, and
police commissioners have issued over 3100 permits, thus creating an establish-
ment selling liquors at retail for every twenty-five registered voters in the city.
There are no requirements as to bonds or as to hours of closing, either on
week-days or on Sundays. It is superfluous to add that the saloon is well
intrenched in San Francisco politics.
A recent test of the voting power of the " wide-open" influences in San
Francisco was had in a special election, held under the referendum clause
of our charter, for the passage of an ordinance permitting the resumption
of gambling in the race-tracks within the city limits. A long campaign was
made against the proposition by all the newspapers, churches, and civic
bodies. We have no permanently poor class, no illiterates, and a population
almost entirely English-speaking. It is safe to say that 95 per cent, of the
voters knew exactly what the issue was and voted without coercion. Out of
48,162 votes, 22,636 were for the ordinance.
The town is " wide open." The most conspicuous examples of the " lib-
eral" enforcement of police regulations are the side entrances to saloons and
the large French restaurants. The former admit women to back rooms,
6 S.F. Charter, Art. VIII., Ch. 3, Sec. 3.
6 Charter, Art. II., Ch. 2, Sec. 15.
[375]
iS2 The ^liinals of the American Acadony
wliere liquors are sold. In the latter, over the public dining-rooms on the
street (and which are patronized by the admittedly better class of people
of the city), are from six to eight stories of suites of dining-room, bedroom,
and bath, devoted exclusively to transient assignation, and served from the
same kitchen as the restaurant. Both evils are reachable by existing statutes
and ordinances. There is an occasional attempt at closing a side entrance,
but absolutely no interference with the restaurants.
As to remedies : San Francisco is a metropolitan seaport, a mining,
lumber, and cattle centre, and a pleasure resort combined. There seems no
hope of immediate suppression of the richer saloon or of the restaurants.
A considerable increase in the liquor license tax, however, would probably
close out what are sometimes called " middle-of-the-block" saloons, miser-
able places in back alleys, where the proprietors eke out a wretched existence
selling adulterated liquor, often to the women and children when the men
are at work. The continuance of such places depends on the skill with which
a trade is built up among the people immediately adjoining the saloon. The
profits are too small to stand a raise in the liceiise. An increase to even $500
per annum would rid the city of a considerable body of people whose entire
energy is given not alone to catering to the vices of the community, but to
creating vice among its least resistent population. Beyond the occasional dis-
cussion of the advisability of raising the license, there does not seem to be any
evidence that the public is at all conscious that its saloon conditions are
unusual for an American city.
Cincinnati — The Liquor Question^ Under the constitution of Ohio no
license can be charged for the selling of intoxicating liquors. The Supreme
Court has, however, upheld the taxation of the liquor business. Under a law
known as the Dow law it is provided that " upon the business of trafficking
in spirituous, vinous, malt, or any intoxicating liquors there shall be assessed
yearly, and shall be paid into the county treasury by every person, corporation,
or copartnership engaged therein and for each place where such business
is carried on, the sum of three hundred and fifty ($350) dollars." This
tax, together with the increase, shall attach and operate as a lien upon the
real property on and in which such business is conducted.
Every husband, wife, child, parent, guardian, employer, or other person
injured in person or property or means of support by any intoxicated person,
or in consequence of the intoxication, habitual or otherwise, of any person,
shall, after having given notice to the person selling such liquors, begin an
action against such person if he sell after notice. And the owner of any build-
ing or premises and the person renting or leasing same having knowledge that
intoxicating liquors are to be sold therein in violation of the law shall be
liable severally and jointly with the person selling intoxicating liquors.
The sale of intoxicating liquors on Sunday, except by a regular druggist
on written prescription of a regular practising physician and for medical pur-
poses, is declared unlawful, and all places where it is sold shall be closed,
■ Coniniunicatioii of Max B. May, Esq., Cincinnati, Ohio.
[376]
Municipal Goveriuiicnt 183
and whoever sells, or allows such place to be open, shall be fined for first
ofifence not more than $100 and not less than $25, and for each subsequent
offence fined not more than $200 or imprisoned not less than ten nor more
than thirty days, or both. In regular hotels any bar connected therewith shall
be closed. Every city has full power to regulate selling, furnishing, or giving
away of intoxicating liquors as a beverage and the places where such liquors
are sold. In Cincinnati all saloons must close at twelve o'clock midnight and
remain closed until six o'clock a.m.
Wherever forty per cent, of the qualified electors of a municipal corpora-
tion shall petition the council for privilege to determine by ballot the question
of prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors, a special election shall be held,
not earlier than twenty nor later than thirty days from filing of petition ; and
if the majority of votes cast at said election was against sale, any selling more
than thirty days after election is unlawful. A local option election may be
held every two years. On January i, 1904, local option was in force in 120
towns and incorporated villages. The State administration has little or
nothing to do with enforcement of the liquor law. Every two years there is a
contest in the legislature between anti-saloon and saloon factions, the former
trying to extend anti-liquor legislation. The city members are usually opposed
to such laws.
The Cincinnati administration is favorable to the saloon. On Sunday
the side doors of most saloons are open and certain resorts are open all night.
If a person should be arrested for violation of Sunday or midnight closing
law, he demands a jury trial. So often have juries disagreed or acquitted,
that such cases are put on open docket and never tried. In every sense of the
word there exists in Cincinnati a " liberal enforcement," — i.e., liberal towards
saloon.
In local politics the saloon plays a very important part ; many of the
" leading" councilmen, members of Board of Education, and other officials
are saloon-keepers or have " retired" from business. The ward and precinct
captains make the saloon their head-quarters, and here are carried on all pre-
liminary caucuses. In Cincinnati the boss of the city and his cabinet meet
at regular intervals in a saloon. In my opinion, the best way to eliminate the
saloon from politics is to abolish the delegate convention system, have nomi-
nations made direct at the primaries, and establish a rigid civil service law.
Providence — The Liquor Question.^ The history of the liquor traffic in
Rhode Island shows increasing restrictions on the license traffic, forbidding the
location of saloons near public schools, penalties for selling to minors, etc.,
which culminated in the passage of a prohibitory amendment in May, 1886, by
a vote of 15,113 to 9230. The enforcement of prohibition under the chief of
the special State police (now the boss of this State) was so lax that it was dis-
credited; and in May, 1889, the amendment was repealed by a vote of 28,315
to 9956. On August I, 1889, Chapter 816 of the public laws was passed,
making general provisions for the regulation of the traffic. " Intoxicating
* Communication of Sidney A. Sherman, Esq., Providence, R. I.
[377]
184 The Annals of the American Academy
liquors" are defined to be those containing over two per cent, alcohol, or
even less than that if actually intoxicating. The granting of licenses is
placed in the hands of the town councils and of certain specially appointed
commissions in a number of cities. Licenses are for one year. No liquor
may be sold on Sunday, nor to any woman to be drunk upon the premises,
nor to a minor, nor to a notoriously intemperate person. No license shall be
granted to a place where the owners of the greater part of the land within
200 feet object. The licensee must give a bond of $iooo, with two sureties.
No license may be granted where a dwelling-house is connected with the
licensed premises from within, except taverns, and none where entrance is
otherwise than directly from a public, travelled way. The husband, wife,
parent, child, guardian, or employer of an excessive drinker may notify a
dealer not to sell to such person, and can recover damages if he does. Drug-
gists may sell only on the written prescription of a physician. Screens must
be removed on Sunday. Wholesale license fees are not less than $500 and
not more than $1000; retail, $400 in Providence, and then down to $200
in smaller communities. The city council has just requested the legislature
to raise the fees. Three-fourths of the amount of the fees go to the town
or city and one-fourth to the State. The sheriff of any county must suppress
unlicensed liquor shops on the request of any tax-payer, under penalty of $500
for wilful refusal.
The authorities in any city or town may permit licenses to be transferred
to others than the original licensee. This gives rise to a trade in licenses,
which are now said to be held at more than double their price in Providence.
The local authorities may also fix the number of licenses to be granted, large
or small. They also have power to close shops, saloons, and other places of
resort in the evening as they think proper, and to close saloons during any
specified hours on holidays and election days.
In carrying out these powers the Providence city ordinances provide that
no shop, store, or other place of trade or entertainment, except licensed
taverns, shall be open from midnight to four a.m. No restrictions are made
upon the holiday and election day traffic, and the city merely carries out the
State laws already quoted in regard to Sunday selling, sales to minors, and
the requirement of bonds.
Local option is complete, but the vote is only taken upon petition of
15 per cent, of the total vote in towns and lO per cent, in cities. Agitation
is discouraged by this law, and there has been only one vote on the license
question in Providence for a dozen years. The five cities of the State give
licenses, as do nineteen towns ; while fourteen towns refuse them. The
twenty-four license communities contain 398,556 people by the census of 1900,
and the fourteen no-license towns just 30,000. In 1902 there were seventy
wholesale licenses in the State, forty-four of which were in Providence ; and
1 164 retail licenses, 475 of which were in Providence. This is an average of
one retail license to every 368 people in the State, one to every 354 in Provi-
dence, and one to every no in the town of Tiverton. The town of Westerly
and the surrounding southwestern part of the State are quite strongly no-
[378]
Municipal Government 185
license, but a striking featiu-e of some of the country districts is the saloon
at the cross-roads. Some mill villages have their streets lined with saloons.
The attitude of the State and city authorities accords with public senti-
ment for the most part. Recently, enforcement in Providence has been more
strict than formerly, which would indicate that it was formerly somewhat
" liberal." In certain smaller communities and in one or two larger ones the
local administration winks at many infractions of the law. It seems to be
difficult to secure conviction in the courts for illegal selling on account of
lack of credible witnesses and technicalities under which refuge is taken.
Few liquor dealers appear in our legislature or city council, but here,
as everywhere, they are a potent influence in politics. This influence is ex-
erted not only by the small dealer upon his patrons, but by the wholesaler,
who moves in the best society and contributes to charities and campaign
funds. Owing to the almost absolute lack of agitation upon the license ques-
tion, this influence is silent and less apparent to the public than it is in many
places ; but it exists, nevertheless. Up to November 26, 1901, licenses in
Providence had been in the hands of the city, but on that date a State Police
Commission, appointed nominally by the governor, but actually by the State
Senate, took control of the police and licensing systems in the city. This
was a partisan act, passed in order to deprive the mayor of his power. The
city pays all the expenses of the commission. The majority of the people
have several times shown their strong disapproval.
As to the general question of eliminating the saloon from politics, it is
doubtful if it can be eliminated as long as it exists. It surely cannot be left
unregulated, and the moment the community begins restriction the liquor
interests begin to work against it. And those interests are so powerful, and
so alert from self-interest, that it seems unreasonable to suppose that the
elimination of the saloon from politics is possible unless the saloon itself is
destroyed.
Seattle — The Liquor Question.^ By State law the cities of Washington
are grouped into classes, all below the first class being allowed local option
regarding the liquor traffic. Cities of the first class, such as Spokane, Tacoma,
and Seattle, are given the right t